Alternate Dimension
by Laenavesse
Summary: [18: A totally different story for Dragon Knights, starting from Earth and going from there. Cesia has been taken and Rath relives a lost memory. While unconscious, Rune has gone beserk from worry and Thatz has gone paternal! R&R] Not a real update but..
1. Transfer Students?

Dragon Knights: Alternate Dimension

Chapter 1: Transfer Students?

Hohohoho! My first DK fic ^^ I don't own any of the following characters! The wonderful Mineko Ohkami does! ^o^ I actually thought of this up while doing an RP with a friend…*coughs* Well, this fic is first set placed in a regular high school in Japan, first starting out with Kitchel and Cesia. Rath, Thatz, and Rune transfer over later and they soon run into a lot of the some of the other DK characters. This is a little twist to the DK story because rather than have starting out in the DK world, it starts out on Earth and they are later transported to Draqueen and find out about the truth about themselves! It follows the storyline at some points, though I mighta changed the characters' personality a LITTLE, but I've only read up to Vol. 6…so if I put something that actually DOES happen in the manga that will come out in the future well it was all coincidence or some freaky ESP o.O READ ON!

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         "Cesia-chaaaaaan!!! Hurry up!!"

         "Hai! Coming!"

         The young girl quickly dashed down the stairs, grabbed her school bag, and ran out the door, her long, golden yellow hair streaming behind her. Her friend was waiting outside, her bright, green eyes staring out at nothing. 

         "Ready?" Kitchel asked her slightly out of breath friend. 

         "Yeah, lets go!" Cesia answered as she straightened her school uniform and started walking.

         They walked down the empty street, normal for that time of day in the early hours of the morning. The two girls talked about the upcoming events at school, but Cesia's attention strayed from her friend to one of the houses that had been up for sale for a while now. She stopped and blinked. The For Sale sign now had "Sold" in front of it.

         "Cesia-chan?" Kitchel looked over and noticed the sign. "Oh, looks like you'll have new neighbors!"

         "It seems so…" Cesia said distractedly. "I wonder who moved in? Must have moved in during the weekend. We should welcome them later."

         "Who used to live in there?" Kitchel asked as they resumed walking to school. 

         Cesia furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Um…I'm not…quite sure, really! That house has been for sale for a while now…almost a year, I think. I've never really known the neighbors in this area…my parents never invited anyone over or anything…"

         "Hm, well then, all the more reason to meet them! And who knows? Maybe there are some cute boys there!" Kitchel added starry-eyed.

         Cesia smiled and giggled at her friend. "Maybe…but we better get going! We have to clean up the classroom before school, remember?"

         Kitchel placed a hand to her head. "Right, right."

         They continued walking and entered the gate to the large private high school. The name "Ryuken High" was engraved on the right side of the massive gates, the left side bearing the names of the founders of the school. The giant marble clock on the center tower read thirty 'til seven.

         "What? Only seven thirty?! Arrrgghhh!! I woke up too early!!" Kitchel sighed exasperatingly. 

         Cesia laughed. "Really? I'm usually here before now…"

         Kitchel stared at her. "You're joking right?!"

         "Yes, I am!" Cesia laughed. "But it's good to be a little extra early for the morning clean-up…you never know what mess might have come up."

         Kitchel shook her short, orangey-brownish hair as they changed their shoes. "Tch, yeah I remember last time! The people who were supposed to clean up the class after school _forgot_ to!"

         Her friend just smiled as they climbed up the stairs and walked to their classroom. Kitchel went to sweeping and rearranging the desks while Cesia cleaned the chalkboard. They didn't have much to do and were soon finished. The two girls glanced at the clock. It was five 'til eight. Still having around thirty minutes left until the class started, they decided to take a walk outside.

         Exiting the school, Cesia looked up and brushed her golden bangs out of her eyes. The early birds were singing in the trees and there was a light breeze blowing through the trees. It was a perfect day for a Monday morning. She stood for a moment and felt the wind around her. It felt almost…homey to her and felt as if she could actually take hold of it if she reached out. She closed her eyes and embraced the wind, feeling it flow through and around her body. _Why do I feel so…peaceful…?_

         "Cesia-chan? Cesia-chaaaan!!" Kitchel said for the eleventh time. She looked at her friend concerned when she opened her eyes. "Were you day dreaming or something? You were just standing there with this peaceful look on your face."

         "Ah, gomen ne, K-chan," Cesia said sweatdropping. "I was just, um, thinking about something…"

         Kitchel blinked. "Oh? About what?"

         "Um…nothing really important," she said smiling. 

         Kitchel shrugged and they continued walking through the school grounds. They soon reached the garden that connected to the central park around the school. As they walked through the paths, Cesia blinked. Lying on a branch was a red haired boy with an odd white lock of hair on the far right of his bangs. He was just lying there, a bird resting on an outstretched finger. They have never seen him around here before and concluded that he must have just transferred. He flicked his finger gently and as the bird flew away he sat up and turned to them, his pale red eyes looking at them. 

         It was when his eyes locked onto hers that Cesia felt a strange pang inside her. She took a step back and Kitchel blinked, looking at her friend. Even though she wasn't looking at him, Cesia could still feel him staring at her. _What is wrong with me? Why do I feel this way? _Kitchel's voice suddenly sounded as if she were miles away and just as suddenly she felt herself return back to reality. She blinked and looked back to where the strange boy was. He had disappeared.

         "Cesia-chan?" Kitchel repeated worriedly. "Cesia-chan, daijobu ka?"

         Cesia blinked and staggered a bit. "Yes…yes I'm alright…I just felt a little dizzy…that's all." She couldn't tell her friend what she had really felt. It was almost as if his eyes were probing into her soul, trying to figure something out. She didn't want to worry her friend any more than she had to.

         The five-minute warning bell rang from the school and the two girls hurried back to their class. Cesia barely heard the girls talking about the new transfer students that were coming to their class as she sat down, still deep in her own puzzling thoughts. Everything seemed to pass quickly right by her and it was only Kitchel's poking her arm that jolted her from her reverie to answer the roll. She listened to her teacher's announcement of the new transfer students, already feeling her head clearing up, and waited half-expectantly, half-excitedly for them to enter. She did not have to wait long.

         The girls swooned when the three handsome guys entered on after the other, the guys groaning when they realized that there were no cute girls joining. 

The first one who entered had long, blond hair, his light amber eyes surveying the classroom like a new teacher to a new classroom. He looked a little stressed out but, Cesia thought, he had a gentle look about him.

The second one had a jade green type of hair and similar eye coloring, a scar running across his face down the left from the top to the bottom of his cheek, a small x-shaped scar below his left eye. Despite the scars, he looked like someone you'd find having a good time with his friends, with a hint of a thievish look.

Cesia's eyes widened when she saw the third enter. The red hair, the piercing pale red eyes, and the odd white lock…it was the same guy that was in the park earlier this morning. He didn't look directly at her, but she could sense him glancing at her occasionally.

"Students, meet Rune, Thatz, and Rath," the teacher said respectively. His voice sounded miles away to Cesia, and automatically replied along with the class.

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Kinna short, but good enough I think ^-^ For the character descriptions, I just chose some of the designs Mineko Ohkami had. I don't think she has a specific color code for the characters, because Rath's hair changes from red to green to orange to blue to purple and so on and so forth. Rune was easier. It's a given that he has light colored hair so I chose the blonde out of the white, blue, or blonde colors. Thatz's hair also changes from orangey-yellow to blue to red and to green. I chose green because I think that would just fit him better and I see him with that color more. Cesia was either gonna be golden yellow, pink, or purple. I chose the golden yellow since that made a little more sense…and easier to picture I guess. Kitchel is probably the only one who's hair color didn't really change o.O; Well beside the Dragon Officers and the demons…but we're not there yet . Same thing with the eyes. It seems that she matched the color of the eyes with the hair color, so I kinda did that, too. Er if I spelled any Japanese words wrong, apology in advance!! I'm only using it a little…so that should lower the mistake rate a lot .o; Well, review :D Tell me what you think ^-^


	2. Surprising Thoughts

Chapter 2: Surprising Thoughts

Whee! Even if you guys don't review, I'm still gonna write the story! =P Hope you guys enjoy it ^^; Proud of myself! Not as much dialogue as my other fics o.O

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            It was lunch, and Kitchel had a big sweatdrop on her head when she turned around to see what Thatz would eat for lunch. He had pulled out from out of nowhere a gigantic bag filled with food and was eating it rather happily.

            "Are you a pig or something?!" Kitchel almost yelled in disbelief at the sight.

            Thatz blinked and looked up, a piece of ham in his hand. "No…I just like to eat," he said matter-of-factly. He then resumed eating.

            Rune was sitting behind Cesia, watching Thatz in disgust. "I can't believe you actually brought all of that! We'll be out of food by Wednesday at this rate!!"

            "Oh, well then better get more!" He continued scarfing down on the food, not noticing his friend's annoyed look. 

            Kitchel sweatdropped and turned her attention to Cesia, who had been unusually quiet during the whole school day so far. She was eating, that was a good sign. But she seemed a little…stiff? Tense? Nervous maybe? Kitchel couldn't quite figure it out. She thought hard about what had happened earlier today. First she seemed to zone outside for some odd reason, then they saw Rath and she freaked out. _Okay, well maybe not exactly freak out…_Kitchel said silently to herself. At the thought of Rath she turned and looked past Cesia at the seat next to her. He was staring out the window, his obento untouched.

            Thatz blinked and followed Kitchel's gaze, noticing Rath's forgotten lunch. "Hey Rath…can I have your lunch?" he asked.

            "…Sure, go ahead," Rath said without turning.

            "Yay!" Thatz said in pure delight.

            "Is food all you think about?" Rune asked, but not with the same ferocity as he would normally use. He too had noticed his friend's odd behavior. Rath was usually livelier than this and would at least be talking to the girl that sat next to him. 

At the thought, Rune leaned forward. "Cesia was your name, wasn't it?" From the corner of his eye he saw Rath stir. _Hm…_

Cesia started a bit and turned around in her seat to face Rune. "Yes, that's right," she said smiling. "How are you? Adjusting to the school alright?"

Rune noticed the light, pale look on her face. "Yes, this place is actually a lot better than the other schools we've been to."

Kitchel leaned over, listening in. "Oh, so you move around a lot?"

"No, not really," Thatz said in between bites. "This has been only our second actual move to a different city. He meant the other schools we've visited."

Rune coughed. "Thank you, Mr. Thatz," he said dryly. 

Thatz shrugged and said, "No problem" in between bites.

Kitchel stared amazed at the transfer student behind her. She had never seen anyone eat so much and still be in such good shape. Her gaze trailed over to his two scars. "Hey Thatz…did you get into a school fight or something?"

By this time, Thatz had finally finished his lunch and was cleaning up. "I guess you could say that."

"What happened?"

"He was gambling again," Rune said while taking a drink. 

Kitchel sweatdropped. "Oh, I see."

Cesia turned and blinked. "Gambling? Why would you want to do that? Isn't it illegal?"

Thatz sweatdropped. "Not that kind of gambling! It was just a few friendly bets and the loser didn't take it that well."

"Oh…" She turned back around only to find Rath staring at her, his head propped up by his hand, elbow on the table. She blinked and felt her heart hammering against her chest. _It's the same as before…_ "Y-yes, Rath?" she stammered.

He sat there for a moment. "You're—" His words were cut off as the five-minute bell warning rang and the students started to file in. She blinked, waiting for him to continue finishing his sentence. He stared at her for a moment longer. 

"Never mind" was his only response and turned his attention back to the front of the class as the final bell rang. 

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            "Cesia-chan, are you okay?" Kitchel asked as they gathered their things to leave. She blinked when her friend did not respond to her at first. "Cesia?"

            Cesia blinked and looked up, only to find her friend's worried face watching her. She smiled a little. "Yes, I'm alright, K-chan…just a little tired, I guess."

            "You've seem really out of it lately," Kitchel said as they walked out of the class. "Is something on your mind?" Silence. She turned and looked at her friend. "Is it…Rath?" She saw her friend start at his name. _Aha! There we go!_

            "It's…it's nothing," Cesia stammered as she quickly went down the stairs and to the locker area. "Nothing at all!"

            Kitchel stood waiting and looked at her skeptically. "Nothing? Are you sure?"

            "I have to get home and prepare something for the new neighbors," Cesia said quickly as she walked past her friend out the door. "Kitchel, would you like to help?"

            "Alright! If I get to eat some of it first," she said happily. "Your cooking is always the best!" _I'll let her get away for now…_

            "Arigato, K-chan," Cesia said smiling, already feeling her nerves finally calm down.

            They walked down the quiet streets to Cesia's house, chatting about what the neighbors would be like. "Maybe an old couple?" "Maybe they're newlywed." "I wonder if they have any pets?" "I dunno, but I hope there are some cute boys!" "Oh, Kitchel!"

            They soon reached Cesia's grand house. Kitchel was always amazed at how Cesia never seemed to feel lonely in the huge house, her parents always out of town on business. Kitchel's own family went out occasionally, but she could always find something to occupy herself with. She stopped by the garden to admire the beautiful flowers Cesia grew. The light petals seemed to shine in the sun and waved gently in the breeze, almost as if they were alive and were moving on their own to their own dance.

            As they entered through the door, Kitchel couldn't believe how clean and tidy the house was. Not a single thing was out of place and dust could be considered extinct in this house. There was nothing out of place. Her gaze trailed over to the long line of photographs of Cesia's family. There were a lot of Cesia when she was a little girl, her mother and father playing with her, the look of pure joy overflowing on the faces. But Kitchel could not shake of this feeling of…oddness. Something didn't seem right. It didn't seem…real. She did not tell her friend what she was thinking, fearing that it would finally break whatever strain Cesia had at the moment. Also she just thought herself paranoid. 

            Cesia herself was deep in her own thoughts as they crossed the expansive living room, setting their things on to the couch, and into the kitchen. She could not get Rath's face out of her mind: that piercing stare, his eyes seeming to be filled with intense fire, his face not revealing any of his true emotions. She shook her head. _No, I must concentrate at the task at hand_, she told herself. But as she prepared the mix for the batter that would create the cake she and Kitchel were making, her thoughts strayed back to what Rath had been going to say when the bell rang. _I'm what? _She tried to figure out what he might have said. Did she do something to offend him that morning? Did he hate her for no apparent reason? 

            Kitchel glanced at her friend worriedly. Cesia was stirring the batter absentmindedly, not really paying attention. The awkward silence between them was killing her, and she wanted to do something to help her friend. If only she knew what was wrong! She cleared her throat, saying, "I bet Thatz would go ballistic if he saw what you were planning to cook." She blinked, wondering why in the world she said _that_. To her relief she heard Cesia laugh.

            "I'm afraid everything would be gone by nine if he was here," she laughed. It felt good to laugh again. Cesia smiled at Kitchel, who smiled back and giggled. 

            After about an hour, the cake was finally complete. Kitchel had topped it off with a beautiful, freshly cut rose, thornless of course. It was a simple three-layered white chocolate cake, but it looked as if a master baker had baked it. The light pink tinted icing gave it a wedding cake sort of look.

            "I wish I had a camera," Kitchel sighed. "It's a shame it will be eaten…"

            Cesia laughed. "Don't worry. I can always make more, haha."

            Kitchel smiled at her and handed her the cake. "Here you go! You go on ahead! I got freshen up a bit," she winked. 

            Cesia laughed and walked out of the house, careful to not hurt the cake. _I hope they like this!_ she thought worriedly as she walked up the steps to the front door. She always thought this house was lovely, with its arches and gardens around. She shifted the cake to one arm and quickly rang the doorbell. 

            She smiled when she heard the door open. "Hi! I'm your new neigh—" She gasped an blinked. In front of her stood a young man with dark red hair, his pale red eyes looking at her a little surprised. He was wearing a loose black T-shirt and black pants. He also had an odd white lock of hair on the right side of his bangs. He was the person she had least expected to see. He was Rath.


	3. Visiting Hours

Chapter 3: Visiting hours

Wheee! Thanks for the reviews! :D Teehee, what will this chapter tell or even foretell? Read on to find out! ^.^

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            Kitchel straightened her skirt and checked her hair. Everything looked all right. As she walked down the stairs she looked once more at the pictures hanging along the walls. She didn't know why, but she had this strange feeling. As if none of this actually existed. As if she and Cesia did not belong…_Oh what in the world am I thinking?!_ Kitchel scolded herself. _Cesia-chan is waiting for me! No time for this!_ She shook her head and exited the house, making sure she locked it. It was not exactly necessary to lock the doors in this neighborhood, but no one knew when something could happen. 

            The sun was starting to set as Kitchel walked down the street to the newly sold house. She could not wait to see who had moved in. She started singing a song that had no particular tune to it when she turned the corner. When she saw Cesia waiting at the door, she started to run over but stopped quickly when the door opened. She gasped a little in surprise when she realized who it was and ducked behind a tree to watch. _This should be interesting…_

            Rath had noticed Kitchel's movements but did not change his position. He kept staring at Cesia, surprised to find her there. There was something about her that made him put his guard up and he never figured out why. There was also a sense of familiarity about her. He remembered their first meeting, sitting up on the branch looking down at her and Kitchel. He was not able to tear his eyes off from her that time and it unnerved him. He hated it when he could not figure out things. 

            He placed a hand against the doorway and leaned against it. "So, what brings you here?"

            Cesia blinked when she realized he had asked a question. "I…I didn't realize that it was you who had moved in here…"

            "Oh, I see."

That was his only response. Cesia heard Rune in the background calling for Rath and figured Thatz would be in there as well. "I'm sorry if I came at a bad time…"

Rath started to turn. "…It's alright. You can come in." He rose his voice a little as he said, "Oh, and tell Kitchel to quit hiding. There's nothing going on here that would interest her." He turned around and walked inside.

Cesia blinked and turned to see a sheepish looking Kitchel waving from behind her hiding spot. She waited for her friend to walk up to her and turned to walk inside. The two were amazed at how big the house was. It looked smaller from the outside, but from the inside Kitchel thought it was the same size as Cesia's place. The furniture was neatly arranged and dust free. There was still some evidence of moving in, but even the boxes were neatly stacked up. 

Rune blinked when he saw the two girls walk in. He was wearing a white shirt and jeans reading a book. He stood up from the couch and bowed hastily. "Irasshaimase, Cesia-san, Kitchel-san." 

            The two girls bowed back. "Arigato gozaimas," they replied.

            Thatz walked in and he too had changed into more comfortable clothing, wearing a sleeveless, faded khaki color shirt and white jeans. He also had a sandwich in his hand. "Oh, hey guys."

            Kitchel almost fell over. "Thatz!! I should have known!!"

            He blinked and looked at his sandwich. "What?"

            Rune sweatdropped and took the cake from Cesia's hands. "Arigato, Cesia-san." He looked at the cake and blinked. "Did you buy this?"

            Kitchel grinned and placed an arm around her friend's shoulder. "Nope! Cesia-chan made it!"

            Cesia looked a little embarrassed. "Kitchel, you helped, too!"

            "Oh come on! All I did was put in the stuff. I had no clue what I was doing!"

            Thatz had come up behind Rune and was staring at the cake drooling. "Cake…………"

            Rune backhanded him, a vein popping. "THATZ!!!!" He sighed and placed it on the coffee table in front of the couch. "I'll get the knife and plates. You girls can sit anywhere you like," he added as he went into the kitchen. "NO EATING THATZ!" he yelled from the kitchen as Thatz tried to sneak a taste. 

            Rath sat on the right side of the couch and looked at the cake. "…Looks really nice."

            "It's better than nice!" Thatz said. "It's ENTICING!!"

            By this time Rune had come back and they all were staring at Thatz, silence filling the room. Rune coughed and placed the plates and silverware in front of everyone. Cesia watched a little nervously as the three guys took a bite out of it. 

            Rune blinked. "Oh, wow! This is absolutely delicious!!!"

            Thatz was already on his third piece. "This has GOT to be the BESTEST cake I've EVER eaten!!!!!!" 

            Rath took another bite. "It's good."

            It was all he said, but Cesia felt all the tension flow out of her. _He liked it! That's a relief…_

            After they had finished the cake, the time made shorter by Thatz's ferocious eating, Rune gave Kitchel a tour around the house upon her request. She noticed the pictures hanging on the wall. They were all of the three of them. She did not see anything with their parents. She wanted to ask, but she thought that maybe something happened to them and did not want to bring up a touchy subject. 

            There were a lot of rooms for just three boys. Kitchel sweatdropped at Thatz's room. It was all a mess, which was not exactly that surprising. She wondered how he could find anything in there. Rune's room was a lot neater and she could actually see the walls, which were a light blue color. Rath's room was also kept neat though the walls were black, the carpet a dark crimson. _Oh yeah…this reminds me of vampires for some reason…_Kitchel thought, shuddering.

            "I never did understand his choice in colors," Rune said frowning a little. "I get this depressed feeling just looking at it."

            "I see he likes sword fighting," Kitchel said, noting the large rack of various swords. They ranged from the Western medieval models to the typical Japanese katanas.

            "Very much so," Rune said sweatdropping.

            "By the way…" She turned to Rune. "Why do you wear your hair long like that? I almost thought you were a girl."

            "I don't know! Every time I cut it just grows right back overnight!!" Rune said frustrated. "It gets really frustrating to have guys hitting on you," he said, a vein popping.

            Kitchel laughed. "Well, you're still cute!"

            Rune blinked. For once he didn't have anything to say. "Er…uh…thanks, I think?"

            She laughed and turned to go back downstairs. "Thanks for the tour!"

            "…Kitchel-san…"

            "Hm?"

            "…Could you please put back that expensive Ming vase that was just on the table before?" 

            Kitchel turned around and looked at him sheepishly. "Eh-heh…bad habit of mine!" She hastily placed it back and went down the stairs.

            Rune fixed the vase's position. "Odd for her to choose the same vase Thatz tried to steal…"

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            Cesia was busy cooking in the kitchen. Thatz had begged her to stay and cook dinner for them, claiming that though Rath's cooking was satisfactory, Rune's was horrible, and it was Rune's turn to cook. They apparently did not trust Thatz himself to cook. _I don't think I would either,_ she thought to herself, giggling as she diced up the carrots. She enjoyed cooking for some reason. Maybe it was because it kept her occupied so as not to think about her own problems. Or maybe it was because she enjoyed making others happy, and food is the easiest way to a person's heart. She started humming a little tune, already feeling a lot happier than before.

            Rath looked over his shoulder at Cesia. He was helping her out in the kitchen since he had nothing else to do. Or was that the only reason? He shook his head and put his focus back to making the miso soup. But it was hard not to notice how happy Cesia seemed to be. After checking the soup he leaned against the island in the center and watched her. He again felt as if he had seen her somewhere before. But where? She reminded him of someone… Couldn't hurt to ask, right? 

            "Hey, Cesia…did you used to live somewhere else?"

            She blinked and turned around. "Um…" She tilted her head a little thoughtfully. "Actually I did used to live in this small town…"

            He blinked. Small town? "Really?"

            She smiled. "Mhm…it was really peaceful there…It had this large field with the most beautiful flowers! I'd go there everyday just to lay in there or make flower crowns," she said, laughing a little. "I even had a few friends…"

            "I see…"

            She blinked. "Why?"

            Rath shrugged. "Just wondering…" _You just remind me of this girl…_ he added silently.

            "Oh…okay." She turned back around continued working. "This should be ready, soon. Could you get a large for the salad, please?"

            "Sure." He went over, took out the salad bowl and placed it on the island. "Anything else?"

            "No…but I think you should check your soup," she added without looking up.

            Rath blinked as he realized he had forgotten all about the soup and quickly went to it. He sighed in relief when everything was still okay. 

            "You always forgot about the things that you were doing…"

            He blinked and turned. "What?" _I've heard that before…_

            She laughed a little. "It was just something I remembered saying to a boy at my old home. He'd sometimes help me cook, but he always forgot to keep an eye on other things." She laughed at the memory.

            Rath stared at her for a moment, thinking. Something was nagging at him in the back of his mind, but he could not figure out what it was. He decided to try to figure it out later. "Well, we better get this out before Thatz starts whining," he said smiling a little. 

            Cesia blinked. "Oh, wow! You're actually smiling!! Okay, well it wasn't a full one but still!!"

            Now it was Rath's turn to blink. "Huh?"

            She laughed. "You've had this serious expression on your face since this morning…" She stopped. "Hey…you were going to tell me something earlier. What was it?"

            Rath looked at her then turned away. "…It's nothing."

            "Rath!!"

            He just ignored her and went out the door with the rest of the meal, leaving Cesia standing there dumbfounded, the salad bowl in her hands. She sighed and walked out. 

            Thatz was sitting at the table, eyeing the food hungrily. Rune had already laid out the tea and had also set the table. After everything was in place, they said "Itadakimas!" and dug right in. Rune had to keep yelling at Thatz to stop eating everything, but he couldn't help it. The food was delicious.

            The girls helped clean up after dinner. Kitchel and Cesia were washing the dishes in the kitchen while the guys helped straighten things out in both the dining/living room and the kitchen. After everything was back to its original place, the trio bid the two girls farewell, Kitchel promising to come back often to visit.

            Since it was rather late, Cesia invited Kitchel to stay over, which Kitchel immediately accepted. The two girls laughed as they went inside, Cesia locking the door behind her.

            Kitchel looked out her window before turning in. She was staying in one of the many spare rooms that were in the big house. The room was very spacious, but it was so comfortable Kitchel wanted to stay in it for the rest of her life. She rolled over,  propped herself up on her elbow, and studied the scenery around the area. It was a peaceful neighborhood. She could even see the guys' house from her vantage point. There was only one light on and she figured it was probably Rath's. _Wonder if he could see out this way, too…He seemed to be in a better mood during dinner…he's just too complex for me,_ she thought shaking her head. She turned to go to sleep but blinked and looked out again. She thought she had seen something looking up at Cesia's room, which was next to hers…

            "I've seen too many movies," Kitchel said to herself as she discarded the event out of her mind and fell asleep.

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o.O Whoa, a little long…maybe TOO long…oh well .; Well hope you guys are likin it so far. Review please!! :D :D :D :D


	4. Memories

Chapter 4: Memories…

I'm not feeling myself lately so sorry if this starts getting uh…bad at some points…well thanks for still reading! You know, I think .hack//sign music would go well with DK o.O I don't know why, but I think so . Evanescence is also great! And what does all this have to do with the fic? Absolutely nothing! =D Except that I listen to it while I'm working on it…Oh, you guys should find the music from the DK Drama CD's! Really interesting, really o.O Yeah, I'll shut up now so you guys can read the actual fic .;;;;;

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         _Rath…_

         Rath blinked and sat up. Was he dreaming? He looked around his room, everything seeming to be in order. 

         _Rath…awaken…_

         He felt a cool breeze blow around him. _Wind?_

         _Rath…I'm waiting…_

         It was a different voice this time, softer and gentler. He slowly got out of bed and stood up. He cautiously looked around and grabbed one of the swords from the rack. When he turned around he found himself in a field of flowers. A young girl was playing with the birds. _Who is that…?_ He was about to approach her when he heard running footsteps coming toward the girl and ducked behind a tree. A little boy came into a view. A boy with red hair. 

         The little girl looked up at the newcomer and smiled. She got up and they ran off back to the village. When they were gone, Rath stepped out and stood there. He was too far to see either of the children's faces. He once again felt wind flow around him, along with a fire burning deep inside him. _What…what is going on?_

         _Rath…_

         Again a different voice, but deeper, with a touch of malice. He could feel a tingling run up his spine as he turned around once more to find himself in a type of dungeon. He quickly turned around again to find the field replaced by a dark wall. He held his sword ready and slowly stepped forward, his footsteps silent as still air. As he rounded a corner, he suddenly jumped back as he narrowly dodged an ice dagger. He deflected another one that was aimed at his head. 

         "Not bad…even if it is just in your sub-conscious." It was the voice again, only this time more real. Rath lowered his sword slightly and saw the human yokai cloaked in black in front of him. He had white, fluffy-looking hair and his light, green eyes was staring at him. Or more specifically, into him. His two birds, one on each shoulder, moved their heads restlessly. "Will you awaken? And if you do…to which side?"

         "Awaken? If you mean from this crazy dream, I'll go ahead and wake up," Rath answered, a little annoyed with himself for not realizing that he was still asleep dreaming. 

         The yokai gave him a sly smile. "Oh, no…not like that." He took a step forward and was suddenly in front of Rath. He tapped a slender finger against Rath's chest. "I mean the power that rests in here."

         Rath stepped back and swiftly moved the sword blade against the yokai's neck. "I don't know what you are talking but you are starting to get on my nerves…"

         The yokai grinned and disappeared, only to reappear back to where he was before. "Feisty, aren't we? The key has yet to be placed to unlock the secrets within you. But…it will just be a little longer. A little longer."

         "A little longer for what? What key?" 

         "That is what you shall find out, my dear Rath." The smile he gave Rath made him shudder. He was gone in bright flash of green smoke.

         Rath lowered his sword, and as he did, the scenery changed again. He was back in his room, but there was something different about it. He looked around and saw a picture his desk. He picked it up, but as soon as the faces started to come into focus, a great gust of wind tore the picture from his hand and flew out the window. 

         _Rath…_

         Argh! Not the voices again!!

         _Rath…wake up…it's time…_

         Time…? He started to feel tired suddenly and somehow found himself in his bed again. Time for what?

         _Rath…_

He felt someone shaking him.

         "Rath if you don't wake up, I swear I'll slam this chair into your head!!!!!"

         Rath blinked and sat up to find a very agitated Rune glaring at him, a chair in his hands. "Oh…Is that you, Rune?"

         "Yes, of course it's me!!" Rune nearly yelled. "I've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes!!"

         "Oh, sorry, about that," he said, grinning sheepishly.

         Rune sighed. "Fine, fine. But get out of bed and get dressed for school! The weekend is over, you know." He walked out, replacing the chair.

         Rath sat there for a moment. "I can't believe Rune actually had a chair with him!" Rath said, sweatdropping. _Weekend? Oh yeah, that's right…It's already been one week since we've been going to Ryuken…_ As he got up, he realized he had his sword in his hand. He placed it back on its rack and changed into his school uniform. It was too formal for his tastes, but then again, the guys' uniforms in Japan were really basically the same. 

As he fixed his shirt, his thoughts strayed back to his unusual dream. The sword that he woke up with was the same one that he had picked up in his dream. Maybe he had sleepwalked. Good thing he hadn't cut himself while sleeping. What was that crazy person talking about? Well he wasn't actually a person…he was a demon, a yokai. How Rath knew this, he was not so sure himself. He quickly checked to make sure everything was in order and went downstairs.

Thatz looked up from his seventh bowl of ramen. "Mornin', Rath," he said in between bites. 

"Morning." He sat down on one of the chairs and watched Thatz grab another bowl and sweatdropped. "…Hungry?"

Thatz just continued eating. After finishing, he sighed and leaned back. "It's not the same…"

"What's not?" Rune asked as he came down the stairs, schoolbag in hand.

"…The food…"

Both Rath and Rune fell over. "The food?!" they said incredulously.

Thatz just sighed. "Oh well…I guess I can wait until lunch!" He walked into the kitchen and came back up with a huge bag of food in his hands. "I'm ready!!"

"THATZ!!!" Rune yelled. 

Rath watched them laughing. It was always a good way to start the day with those two fighting, even if it's just Rune actually hitting Thatz. He blinked when he heard the doorbell ring and got up to answer it. Glancing at his watch, he wondered who it could be at this hour in the morning as he opened the door.

"Ohayo!!" Kitchel said grinning, Cesia just smiling behind her. "Are you guys going to school or what?"

Cesia peered past the surprised Rath and heard Rune yelling at Thatz. "Another fight?" she asked sweatdropping.

Rath coughed. "Er, yeah…" _What are they doing here?_

"Grr…" Kitchel walked past Rath and went inside. "THATZ! GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE NOW!!!!"

Thatz and Rune blinked, Rune about to hit Thatz with a chair. Kitchel was standing by the doorway, flames seeming to erupt around her as she glared at the two. 

"We're going to be late because of you two horsing around!!!" she yelled as she grabbed Thatz's hand and dragged him out of the house.

Rune blinked. "Eh…?" He replaced the chair, grabbed his bag, and followed them out the door. He said "Good morning" to Cesia, who was standing next to Rath, both sweatdropping at the scene that had just passed them. The trio stared as Kitchel successfully grabbed Thatz's lunch and started walking down the road, Thatz trying to stop her.

When they had finally reached the school and had taken their seats in the classroom, Kitchel handed Thatz's lunch back. "Next time, don't be such a pig," she said exasperatingly as he hugged the sack before placing it down next to his desk.

Rune wondered what the whole point of that escapade was, but figured it was probably something Kitchel would normally do. He turned his attention to Rath. He seemed to have loosened up some during the past few days, but Rath still seemed to have his guard up. He was staring out the window again. Something seemed to be bothering his friend, but he didn't want to intervene, knowing how Rath hated not being able to figure things out. _Still…he could at least talk to us,_ Rune thought a little annoyed. He was about to say something when he noticed Cesia stir in her seat in front of him.

"Rath…is something wrong?" She looked at him concerned.

Rath blinked and turned. "No…everything's fine. I just like gazing out the window…"

"You have this faraway look on your face. I can tell something is troubling you."

"…" He turned back around. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." Rath heard her sigh and turn back to the front. He watched the students running into the gates as the final bell rang, signaling the start of school. He blinked and straightened. He scanned the crowd of students again and shook his head. He thought he had seen that yokai again…_I'm letting this get to me,_ he thought, disgusted with himself. 

The teacher was talking about something. Rath turned his attention to the front and listened. An epidemic? What? He glanced around the classroom and noticed that half the class was missing. They were all sick? From the same illness? 

Lunch, and again, something was nagging him at the back of his mind. He had not been paying much attention during class, his mind still preoccupied. Something happened before like this. Images started flashing through his mind. A village dying, a little girl crying, flames flying. 

_Rath…_

He blinked and looked at Cesia, who was looking at him again. "What?"

"Er…you liked kind of…I don't know…you looked like you were in pain…"

Pain? Maybe she knows… "No…it's alright." He gave her a reassuring grin. "Thanks though." _She reminds me of someone…you…_

Cesia smiled back. "What are friends for?"

Friends? Her smile…he felt a pang in his heart. That smile…seen somewhere before…but where? He had to know. It was driving him crazy. Maybe… "Hey, Cesia."

She blinked. "Yes?"

"Can I talk to you after school?"

Kitchel, Thatz, and Rune leaned closer, wanting to hear her reply. 

Cesia blinked. "Um…sure…but don't you have kendo practice?"

He shook his head. "Not today…the instructor is out sick."

"Oh…then okay," she said smiling.

Great! Maybe this puzzle will be solved… "Alright then, outside at the park."

Kitchel blinked. This sounded interesting. _Maybe I should stay after school, just to keep an eye out on her, _she thought, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

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f00m. Ho hum hum, this is getting interesting…do you guys know who that yokai was? If ya don't, I'll be very ashamed u.u I wonder how the heck I'm going to get through all this! x_X So many different ideas, and yet I can only choose one! @_@ 


	5. Revelations

Chapter 5: Revelations

Already on the 5th chapter…I need to speed things up a bit ;; Oh well, it should pick up some more in the upcoming chapters, if not in this one o.O; READ ON! And review ^^

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            The last bell finally rang. The class had gym last, and the girls had just finished running.

            "Ooohh…I HATE running!" Kitchel groaned as the two girls walked back to the girls' locker hall.

            "I didn't think it was so bad," Cesia smiled. 

            Kitchel just gave her a look as they reached their lockers and started changing. "Anyway, you have to hurry because you're meeting Rath remember?"

            "Um…yeah…" _Wonder what he wants…_She quickly changed and checked to make sure everything was in order. After giving Kitchel a last smile she exited the locker hall and headed to the park that was just next to the school.

            Kitchel glanced around then smiled to herself. "Teehee! Don't think I'll let you have all the fun, Cesia-chan!" She walked out and silently followed her. She was halfway there when she felt someone's hand her shoulder, making her jump a bit.

            "Hey, Kitchel…whatcha doin?"

            _Argh, it's Thatz…_ "Um…nothing really!" She turned around and looked at him innocently.

            Thatz blinked. "Riiight…looked like you were sneaking around to me."

            "No, no! I was just, uh, walking around and admiring the trees!" _He's sooo not going to believe that!_ She cringed.

            She was right. "You don't look like the type who'd go around admiring trees." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out back into the open. "Come on!"

            "Hey! Where do you think you're taking me?!" she yelled at him angrily.

            He just glanced back at her and smiled. "I heard about this great café around here and since Rune doesn't want to go and Rath is going to be busy with Cesia, I thought that maybe you and I can go!"

            She blinked, still being dragged by Thatz. _Wha…_ "W-Wait a minute!! I didn't say I wanted to go!!! And who's going to be paying?!" _Why the heck is he still hanging on to my hand?!_

            "You'll love it! I hear the food's great! Not to mention cheap!"

            "Cheap? Well…in that case…" 

            "Great!" 

            Kitchel stared at the back of his head, wondering what the heck was going on. _Maybe he's always like this…_ Her vision strayed to his hand still holding hers and she started to feel herself blush. _AAH! NO NO NO WHAT AM I THINKING?!?!_ She shook her head furiously. She coughed. "Are you going to let go of my hand any time soon?"

            "Nope," he said playfully without looking back.

            "Why not!?"

            "Because you might run away." He continued on, now whistling, thinking about the food he was going to get to eat. "By the way, do you have money?"

            "…Yeah."

            "Great, 'cause you're payin!"

            "WHAT?!!?!?!"

            Kitchel placed her free hand on her forehead and sighed. _Oh well…_ She glanced back. _I guess Cesia-chan well be okay…Maybe I can ask Thatz about some things about Rath…_

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            Cesia slowly walked to the entrance of the garden that was the gateway to the park and stopped. She did not know why, but her heart was pounding against her chest and she couldn't seem to control it. She quickly shook her head and walked forward. A slight breeze blew past her and she felt her nerves calm down, as if the breeze itself had taken them away. She continued walking, now wondering where Rath was going to be. Her question was soon answered. 

            She stopped and blinked. It was exactly like how it was the first time, only Kitchel was not with her this time. Rath was sitting on the same branch resting, his eyes closed, and a bird was sitting on an outstretched hand. It was the only hint that told her he was awake and not sleeping. A gentle breeze once again came and seemed to swirl around her. 

            _It will be all right…relax…_

Cesia blinked with a start. A voice? Who? Was it…the wind? But that was impossible. She shook her head and when she turned back to Rath, she found him staring at her, the same way he did on that fateful morning.

"You're here," he said, turning away, letting the bird go and fly off.

"What? Did you think I wasn't going to come?"

He stayed silent for a moment then jumped down from the branch. When he rose and looked at her, he had a slight smile. "No, not exactly…but I was expecting Kitchel to somehow tag-a-long. Apparently Thatz got to her first, heh."

Cesia blinked. Kitchel? Thatz? What?! "So…what was it you wanted to talk about?"

He leaned against a tree and stood silent for a moment. "Remember our little discussion back in the kitchen the other day?"

"Yes…"

"I can't shake this feeling that we've met somewhere before. I don't know why, but I do." He turned to her thoughtfully. "So…I thought that maybe you might have some answers."

She blinked. _Have I…met Rath somewhere before…?_ She thought hard and gasped in shock. _I can't remember! I can't remember what had happened in my childhood!!_ She suddenly started to shiver and her eyes snapped wide open.

Rath blinked when he heard her gasp and moved away from the tree. "Is something wrong?"

Cesia clutched herself, feeling as if she was going to snap in two, and started gasping. "I…I can't…the flames…it's hot…burning…" She stepped back but started to lose her balance. 

"Cesia?!" He quickly caught her when she started to fall, her eyes closed still gasping and shivering. _What the hell?! Is she in shock or something?_ His mind immediately remembered what the teacher had said and he looked at her. _An epidemic? How did she get it?_ She was talking again and he strained to hear her, her voice now gone weak.

"…illness…death…destruction…yokai…invasion…Arinas…Na…Lyk…" Her words were now starting to cut off, breathing weaker.

"Cesia!! Cesia snap out of it! You're killing yourself!!!" Rath yelled shaking her. "Snap out of it, dammit!!" _Before, it's happened before! _"I don't understand what you are saying!! Invasion of what?!"

She stirred. "Rath…" she mumbled.

He blinked. "Yes? Cesia what is it?" He was now sitting on the ground, holding her to him. 

"Rath…where were you…you said you would play…"

"What? What are you talking about?!"

She started laughing, but it was a laugh that made Rath shudder. It was like she wasn't in this world. "Teehee…you remember don't you? We were supposed to play together. We would be together…forever…"

He stared at her, wide-eyed with shock. "Cesia?!" _Together?_ He straightened with a start. _Cesia…is she the girl that was in my dream?!_ He heard her still talking, as if in a trance.

"Teehee…I was waiting…waiting for you…where were you, Rath?"

"I'm here now! Cesia snap out of it!!" He hugged her to him and held her. "Cesia, I'm here! I remember now!!" The memories started to charge through his mind and the wind around them started to grow stronger. "I promised I'd protect you from those yokai, right? That's what I was doing! I never meant to abandon you, Cesia! I was fighting for you!!" He looked down at her and his eyes widened in horror. _She's not breathing!_ "Cesia, wake up! WAKE UP CESIA!!"

Fire. _Demons…_ Water. _Faeries…_ Earth. _Treasure… _Wind. _Future…_ Dragons. _Remember…_ These things ran through Rath's mind as he hugged Cesia tighter. He could feel her breathing, though very faint. There was still time, still hope. He could feel a warmth deep inside overwhelm him and start to overflow into her as the wind started to flow into him. 

_Wind makes the Fire stronger…_

Cesia blinked and started to wake up. "…Rath?"

He pulled her away from him and stared at her. "Cesia? You're awake?"

"Yes…"

"Do you remember what you were saying?"

She placed a hand on her forehead and groaned. "Not…really…but my head really hurts…" She looked at him. "But…I do remember hearing your voice…" She blinked when he hugged her again. "Rath…?"

"I don't want to lose you again…I promised I'd protect you back when we were just little kids and I'm going to keep my promise."

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^O^ Teeheehee! Wow, major change in the relationship, ne? Hope you guys don't mind about that but those two are my favorite couple! ^.^ Review and stay tuned for Chapter 6!


	6. Return of the Yokai

Chapter 6: Return of the Yokai

Whee! Boy that was a strain on me on the last chapter…@.@ Oh well, lets see what I have to do…*glances down at her notebook* Hm…hehehe…Read on!

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         _I'll protect you._

         Cesia was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She could hear Kitchel moving around in the room behind her. She had agreed on letting her friend stay in with her, since both of their parents were gone. But even though Kitchel was there and brought some comfort into the big house, Cesia was still troubled and her head still ached from earlier that day. She had skipped dinner and gone straight to bed. She also knew Kitchel was probably worrying about her, but her friend had not come by, except to say "Good Night."

         Cesia sighed and rolled to her side, staring out the window. _What did he mean…?_ She thought back to after that crazy incident. Rath had been silent on the walk back and she had not been able to bring up anything to talk about, except on what had happened back in the park. What she wondered about now was how should she act now? How should she interpret what he had said? _He…he probably meant it in a friendly way, _she told herself. _We're just…friends…_ Right? She drifted off to sleep.

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         Kitchel finally heard her friend sleeping and sighed. She wanted to go over there and ask, but she knew better. She knew her friend needed to be alone to figure her thoughts out.

         "What had Rath said to her…?" she mused. _If only Thatz hadn't interfered!_ she thought furiously. "And I had to pay! The nerve!!" She noticed her voice rise and quickly covered her mouth. She gave a sigh of relief when Cesia didn't stir, still sleeping.

         Kitchel sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. She had to admit, she did have fun that afternoon, even if Thatz had nearly eaten every single thing on the menu. She laughed a little and leaned back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. She knew it wasn't anything special…She raised her right hand and looked at it. _He didn't let go until we were actually at the café…_ She felt herself blushing and shook her head. _No, no, no! ARGH THE STUPID JERK!_ She rolled onto her side and sighed as she closed her eyes. 

         "…What's wrong with me…?"

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         It was now midnight, and everyone was sleeping peacefully. Almost everyone. Rath was walking around his room quietly, so as not to wake the others. He knew he should be sleeping, but he could not fall asleep. Whenever he closed his eyes he saw Cesia in that death-like trance. He placed a hand to his lips, thinking. 

_What was it? What was she saying?_ He stared out the window. He could see Cesia's house from where he was. He turned away and sat at his desk, head in his hand.

_Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Dragons?! What did that mean? _He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. _And that wind! It was unnatural…Did she…?_ He strained to remember what Cesia had said. _An invasion of…yokai…?_ He suddenly felt the need to grab his sword when he thought of the word. He could not explain it. Something was burning within him, a desire to go out and kill yokai. But there were none anywhere where he was. There was not even any on this planet!

"This is really annoying," Rath muttered. He stifled a yawn. _Maybe I'll be able to sleep now…_ he thought as he went back to his bed and laid on top of it. He crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. He instantly fell asleep, a feeling of calm winds flowing through his body.

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         Kitchel looked up as Cesia came down, who was stifling a yawn. "Ohayo, Cesia-chan!"

         "Ohayo…" she replied sleepily as she sat down at the table. She blinked when she saw the food in front of her. "K-chan…did you cook all this?"

         Kitchel smiled. "Yep! And I learned it from the master!"

         Cesia blushed embarrassed. "I'm not that great…"

         "Try it!"

         "Okay!" She took a bite and blanched. "Er…"

         Kitchel sighed. "Gomen nasai…I think I got the ginger and the pepper mixed up…"

         Cesia nodded. "That's okay…it still looks nice!"

         "Well, I did make soup in case this happened!" She walked back to the kitchen and came back out with a big bowl of miso soup. "There you go! I'm sure I got THIS right!"

         Cesia laughed. "I'm sure, too!" She tasted it and she was right. "It's delicious, Kitchel!"

         "Yay! I actually got it right! I was so afraid I'd get the vinegar and the corn starch mixed up…" She laughed when she saw the look on Cesia's face. "Just kidding!!"

         "Oh Kitchel! You nearly scared me half to death!"

         Her friend just laughed and picked up her school bag. "Well, I have to get to school a little earlier today. Since the epidemic cut the drama club in half, I have to work double time."

         "Oh, you're in the drama club? I didn't know you joined!"

         "Yep! Well, ja ne!" Kitchel waved and ran out the door.

         Cesia glanced at the grandfather clock. It was five past seven. _That's pretty early…_ She cleaned up the table, walked into the kitchen, and started cleaning the dishes. When she was finished and started making her lunch. 

         "Oh dear…Kitchel forgot her lunch…" She smiled. _She _was_ really worried about me…gomen ne, K-chan…_ When she left the kitchen, there was still plenty of time before she had to leave and meet with the guys. She sat on the couch and sighed, the grandfather clock ticking away.

         _Tick. Tock._

         _I wonder what Rath is doing…_

         _Tick. Tock._

         Cesia stood back up and stretched. She felt tired for some reason. _Maybe it was from last night…_

         _Tick. Tock._

         _Cesia…_

         She blinked and straightened. "Hello?"

         _I'm waiting…_

         She whirled around. _W-What?_ "Hello? Rath is that you?! If it is, it's not funny!" Laughter. It made her shiver. The voices seem to echo around her now. Different voices.

         _Cesia…Look out! …AAAHHH!! …Cesia…help us…Run Cesia!_

         She clutched her head. "Stop it! Leave me alone!!"

         It stopped. She stood there shivering for a moment but she was suddenly aware that she was not alone. She blinked and looked up. Someone with white hair was standing in front of her. He had two birds sitting on his shoulders and they were staring at her. She tried to speak but could not find her voice.

         "Does it hurt?" The voice was smooth, yet icy and cold. "Does it hurt you so much?"

         She found her voice and found it weak compared to the stranger in front of her. "Who are you?"

         He placed his hand under her chin and gently tipped her face up so that she was now staring into his pale, green eyes. "Yes…you have a lot of power within you…"

         She couldn't look away. "Power?"

         There was a knock on the front door. "Hey, Cesia? Ready for school?" 

         "Thatz, don't bang so loudly! The neighbors might not be awake yet!!"

         "Aw, chill out Rune!"

         The stranger glanced at the door annoyed. "Hmph…looks like I'll have to talk to you later…" He released his hold on her and she fell to her knees, gasping for breath. He looked at her for a moment. "You will not be in pain much longer…though…the worst has yet to come…" He gave her a chilling smile and disappeared in a whirl of dark green and black wind.

         "Cesia?" It was Rath's voice. "Cesia are you okay in there?"

         "…You don't think she already left, do you?"

         "Thatz, Kitchel already told us that she would either meet us and if she didn't we should go and pick her up. You should pay more attention!"

         "Something isn't right guys…" Rath looked at his two friends, his pale red eyes troubled.

         "I know what you mean, Rath," Rune said. 

         "I say we break it down!" Thatz said, already getting ready for the charge.

         "NO!" Rune yelled.

         "But what if she collapsed or something?"

         "…That's the way to look on the bright side, Thatz," Rune said sarcastically.

         Rath banged on the door. "Cesia! Answer me if you're there! It's us!!"

         They waited a few moments in silence.

         "We can't stay much longer or we'll be late," Rune said, starting to get agitated. "I'm starting to think we should go with your idea, Thatz…"

         "All right!"

         "No wait," Rath said as he placed an arm in front of his over eager friend. "I think I heard something."

         They stood there a moment and heard the door unlock. Cesia came out, smiling apologetically. "Sorry guys…I was just doing some stuff and I didn't hear you guys knock…"

         "Oh, okay. Good thing you answered! I was about to bust through that door…"

         Rath stared at her. _She's hiding something._ "Are you sure you're okay?"

         She smiled at him and nodded. "Really, I'm fine!" She walked out and closed the door. "Well lets go or we'll be late!"

         The trio stared at her. They glanced at each other and walked after her.

         Rath knew Rune could tell something was wrong, but he wasn't so sure about Thatz. He was never sure what went on in his mind, other than food, sleeping, and getting money. Cesia seemed weaker than yesterday. Was it because of what had happened at the park? Or did something happen during the night? _And why did she take so long in answering the door? Something's not right…_

He suddenly snapped back to attention. He sensed something. He wasn't sure what, but it wasn't something that he should ignore. He looked ahead and saw someone standing in front of the road with…flowers? 

Thatz stopped and blinked. "What the heck?"

The rest of the group stopped as the person approached them. He had orange hair, a long lock of it coming from each of the sides. His bangs had a tint of red in them and his orange eyes were staring, to Rath's disgust, straight at Cesia.

Cesia blinked when he stopped in front of her. "Yes…?"

He kneeled down, handed her the flowers, and kissed her hand. "It is an honor to finally meet you…" He looked straight into her eyes, making her blush. 

Thatz and Rune were having trouble trying to restrain Rath from bashing the stranger's head in. 

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!!" Rath yelled as he shook them off.

The newcomer looked at Rath and stood up. He grinned. "Now is not the time for us…" The ten-minute warning bell could be heard from the school. "We will meet again." He turned. "I bid thee, adeau." He walked off.

Rath was shaking with rage. "Why…that…"

Thatz was trying to calm him down. "Hey, hey! No harm was done…"

Cesia stared at the stranger's back. "What was…that all about?"

Rath stormed right to Cesia and grabbed her hand. "Come on, Cesia! We have to get going!" 

Thatz and Rune stared in utter surprised shock as their friend dragged Cesia to school.

"I'd hate to be in that person's shoes…" Rune mused aloud as they continued walking.

"No kidding…Rath is going to mutilate him…" Thatz agreed.

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Bwahaha! Can you figure who THAT was? Should be easy! =D R&R!


	7. Healing

Chapter 7: Healing

Okay so what's going to happen now? And…when will I ever get to the chapter where they actually go to Draqueen? .;;;;; Expect THAT in like…5 chapters…maybe x.x I'll see x.X Hm, maybe sooner…

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            Kitchel blinked and looked up as Cesia came into the classroom as the five-minute warning bell rang. She looked at her friend. "Cesia-chan?" 

Silence. She just kept staring ahead in a dazed look. Kitchel frowned and waved a hand in front of her face. "Hoy! Cesia-chan!!" She snapped her fingers. "Grr…Well when all else fails…"

As she reached over with a chair, ready to whack Cesia with it, Rune ran in and stopped her. "DON'T DO THAT YOU IDIOT!"

Kitchel blinked. "But…oh fine." She put it backed down. "I wasn't going to hit her with it anyway…"

Rune placed a hand to his forehead grumbling. He took his seat behind Cesia and sighed. He cringed when they could hear a commotion going on outside the classroom.

"Rath! Calm down!!"

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!??!"

"You're starting to act like Rune! And that's the LAST thing we want!!!"

Kitchel saw Rune twitching. "Oh my…Rune what happened?"

"You'll find out soon enough…Oh, by the way, we're getting a transfer student."

She blinked. "Another one? Who?"

"…rez…"

The two blinked and looked at Cesia. "Who?" When she didn't respond they glanced at each other worriedly.

A few seconds later Rath stormed into the classroom, followed by Thatz who was still trying to calm him down, but to no avail. The look in Rath's eyes made Kitchel shudder. _What in the world happened on the way up here?_

She turned to Thatz when he sat down beside her with a sigh. "Thatz, what happened?"  
            "All I can tell you, is that someone's gonna die," he said and placed his head on his arms and closed his eyes. "But, right now I am BEAT! So, G'night!"

Kitchel sweatdropped and turned back to Rath. He was glaring out the window. The awkward silence was killing her and was relieved when the last bell finally rang. _It had only been five minutes? Felt like fifteen…_ She stood to attention along with the rest of the class as the teacher came in.

He coughed a little and smiled. "Good news, class! We have a new transfer student!"

Rath glared at the door and growled. 

"Rath, cool it!" Rune hissed.

The teacher called out and the door opened. Once again the girls all swooned as the incredibly cute new guy walked in. And once again all the guys groaned when they found it wasn't a girl. 

He bowed. "Good morning. My name…is Bierrez." He straightened and smiled over at Cesia.

Rath glared at him and remained silent as the rest of the class welcomed him. 

The teacher, after recovering from another coughing fit, assigned Bierrez the seat in front of Kitchel. Everyone watched as he coolly walked to his seat and sat down. Kitchel had interlaced her fingers and was resting her chin on the hand-like bridge formation, watching him. She blinked. For a second she thought she had seen his ears change…She shook off the feeling. _Too many movies for me…_

The morning passed by quickly. Rath had kept looking at him from the corner of his eye and knew he was blowing all of this way out of proportion, but the way Bierrez kept smiling at Cesia, and the way he had treated her that morning…He clenched his fist at the memory. But there was something else…something else that was bothering him. Bierrez didn't seem human. He could fool others but he didn't fool Rath. Rath could sense that he was something else, but he couldn't place his finger on it. A burning desire raged through him…the desire to kill.

He blinked when he realized Cesia was talking to him. She was looking at him concerned and the look made him feel almost guilty for some reason. It was the effect she always had on him. 

"Rath, is that okay?"

He had been so deep in his thoughts he hadn't heard the question. "What's okay?"

Rune sighed. "Pay more attention, Rath! Cesia asked if she could talk to you after school again." He looked at Rath with troubled eyes and glanced over at the front of the class, where Bierrez was talking to the teacher about his schedule. He knew Rath was thinking about this morning, but he should at least pay more attention to Cesia…

Rath blinked. "Oh, sorry about that…sure, we'll meet at the same place."

Cesia smiled. "Great! There was just something I needed to discuss…" She blinked when she heard her name and turned to find Bierrez in front of her desk. "Er…yes?"

He handed her a flower. "I just…wanted to give you this. As a token of our blossoming friendship."

Thatz gagged. Rune gave him a look but glanced at Rath. He was just staring at Bierrez. Rune turned his attention back to the scene that was occurring in front of him and suddenly felt something jar inside him. When Bierrez returned to his seat as the bell rang, he leaned forward. "Cesia-san…can I see that flower?"

She blinked. "Sure…" She handed it to him. 

Rune held it in his hands and examined it. It was a simple flower, its petals a pale white. But after a few moments he dropped it in horror and looked at his hands. There was nothing wrong with them, but he could have sworn he had felt them being eaten away or something. The flower lay on his desk, looking as innocent as ever. 

_Danger…_

The voice had just appeared inside in his head and was overwhelming his mind. _Water…? I hear water…_ He shook his head and the sound disappeared, but he could still feel the tingling inside. He picked the flower back up and noticed it starting to wilt. _No surprise there…having been cut, it's dying…_ But it was wilting at a fast pace and to Rune's surprise it started glowing. He stared at it and it suddenly disintegrated. The remains blew out an open window from a sudden gust of wind. He glanced at Bierrez, who had been staring at him this whole time.

_He saw? No wait…he knows…_ Rune just gave him a nod and Bierrez returned it, turning back to the front, a smile playing on his lips. Rune stared at the back of his head for a moment and then turned back to the front. The teacher seemed to be recovering from earlier and the ones who were feeling sick became more alert. The air started to become clearer and Rune found he could breather easier again. _I never noticed the air had changed…what's going on?_ Did the flower glowing have anything to do with it? 

Saved…Prince you did it… 

Rune blinked and turned. Nothing. He placed his head in his hand again. _Great. Now I'm hearing voices._ But he sat there wondering. Prince? Saved? And the water…what was all that about? He would have to talk to the others about this…_But Thatz would probably take it as an opportunity to make fun of me_, he thought frowning. He sighed. Best be kept a secret then. 

He stared ahead at Cesia. She seemed weaker… Rune looked at his hand. _I wonder…if maybe…_ He held his hand just behind her back and to his surprise it started glowing, but faint. The sound of water filled his mind as he closed his eyes and could feel the energy flow out of his hand. There was something else, too. He heard other voices…and laughter. His eyes snapped open when an image came into his mind. _A girl? Who was that?!_

Rune shook his head and looked at Cesia again, wondering if it worked. To his great surprise and astonishment he could sense her life force now. He hadn't been able to before, but he wasn't sure if it was just because of her weakened state or if he had just not been able to. He knew Rath could. _Thatz could probably only sense food and money_, he thought wryly. But still…her life force seemed to become stronger. 

The bell rang, signaling the end of sixth period. It was time to go to gym. As he stood up he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Rath looking at him. 

"Thanks, Rune. See you in gym." He waved and walked out.

Rune stared him confused. _Thanks? Thanks for…what? _He blinked. Rath had been watching. A small smile formed on his lips as he walked out. _He cares so much for Cesia that he even watches us, heh. _As he stepped out of the main building he felt a strong burst of wind and a sense of calm swept through him. 

Wind spreads the Healing farther… 

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Sorry if it's a little confusing…maybe you guys are picking up any symbolism I've imbedded in here, maybe not. If you do, you guys are geniuses because I never intended any o_O; After everything that's going on in my English class, with all the explicating and analyzing different works and poems, my brain is now drifting to find any type of symbolism o_o;; So sorry if I'm making it confusing or weird @_@ By the way, I had reread the previous chapters and had found A LOT of mistakes!! @_@!!! So I had fixed them and re-posted them. They weren't really big things, just grammatical errors…an unimportant thought left unfinished o_O;; But it was bugging me so I just fixed them. In the next chapter, by the way, Rath is going to tell Cesia what he was going to say when he had first seen her. So stay tuned! =D! ARGH I FOUND MORE MISTAKES!!!!


	8. Coming of the Storm

Chapter 8: Coming of the Storm

Thanks for the reviews y'all! =D! It really helps me work and gives me an extra drive to continue writing this fic ^.^ Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Chapter 8 already…these guys should be in Draqueen soon…OH, OH IDEA ALERT!! IDEA ALERT!!!! O_o I just came up with a good idea for the ficcy!!! =D!!!! But it's still in the thinking process, so just hang with me @_@ Read on!

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            Rath wasn't there when Cesia entered the park so she sat down on one of the park benches. Tilting her head back, she released a sigh and placed a hand over her eyes. She could feel her strength returning, she was sure of that. But how? _Oh well, it doesn't really matter now,_ she thought shaking her head. She could hear the sound of birds singing nearby, and the leaves gentle rustle in the breeze. She closed her eyes and let herself relax as the wind flowed around her. 

            _Relax…you'll be fine…_

            "You know, you're really leaving yourself open to an attack like that."

            Cesia blinked and removed her hand from her face, straightening. "Rath!"

            He just stood there coolly with his arms crossed. "Well you were. Your guard was totally off. I've been standing here for the past ten minutes. I almost thought you were asleep," he added.

            "Gomen…" She looked down at her hands in her lap, unsure of what to say next. 

             "So, what did you want to ask me about?"   

            She blinked and looked up. "Um…it was about the other day…when you first came here to Ryuken…you were going to tell me something. What was it?"

            A silence fell between them as Cesia looked at him, waiting. He sighed and turned his head away slightly to the left. "What I was going to say does not hold as much truth now. However what I was going to say was…" He stopped, as if pondering what to say.

            "…Was?"

            He turned back and looked directly at her. " 'You're dying.' And I didn't mean it like the slow process of one's life. I meant that you were literally dying. And at a fast rate."

            She sat staring at him, confused. "…Dying?"

            "Your life force. I seem to have this extra sense for others' life forces, and yours was so weak I could barely pick it up." He turned away again. "But that's not really true now. Somehow you've regained your strength, but you're also still in a weakened state."

            "…I see…" She looked back down at her hands again. _Dying? I was…dying?? And at a faster rate than normal? …How?_ She felt anger build inside her. _Was THAT what he was going to say to me?! Those were the first two words he was going to say to me??_ Angry tears were starting to well up in her eyes as her hands clenched her skirt. "Rath!!" she yelled angrily as she looked back up but blinked when she found his face not very far away from hers.

            "But, I'm going to change those words now," he continued, looking directly at her. "You are the one I am going to protect, even if it costs me my life."

            She stared at him stunned and she could feel her heart pounding against her chest. _I'll protect you…_ The words echoed in her mind as she saw several images flash before her. _A boy…? _"Um…is that why you got so mad when Bierrez, uh…"

            "Partly." _She doesn't quite remember…_ He reached over and gently wiped a stray tear away from her eye. "Can you figure out the other reason?"  
            His touch was gentle and soothing and she could feel herself blushing. "No…"

            "Well, one is because he just looks like the bad sort of person that one should avoid."

            She blinked. "Wha?!"

            He smiled. "But that's only another part of it." He paused. "…Maybe I _shouldn't_ tell you the other reason…"

            "Rath!!" She could feel herself shaking a little in nervous anticipation.

            "Okay, okay," he said, slightly sweatdropping. "The other reason is…"

            "…Is??" _The suspense is killing me, just go ahead and say it Rath!_ She was about to yell that at him when she suddenly realized his face was only several inches away from hers and that she was staring directly into his eyes. …_Fire…?_

            "I…" He blinked and suddenly straightened. 

            Cesia blinked. "What's wrong, Rath?"

            He clenched his fist and yelled over at a grove of trees nearby. "Bierrez!"

            To her great surprise and embarrassment, Bierrez stepped out from behind the trees, staring at Rath. 

            "You too, Kitchel!" he yelled twitching.

            "Erg…jig's up…" a voice said as a sheepish looking Kitchel, followed by a nervously laughing Thatz with an angry Rune glaring at them from behind, came out from a group of bushes near where Bierrez was.

            "I told you he would find out!!!" Rune was yelling at the two mischievous students. 

            "Well it took him long enough," Thatz said grinning. "I mean we were there since he walked in—" Rune whacked him.

            "Kitchel?!?!" Cesia was now blushing furiously at the thought of all her friends watching her and Rath and even hearing what was being said. 

            Kitchel waved. "Hehehehe…I was just worried about you, Cesia-chan! Honest!!" 

            "Liar…" Thatz muttered under his breath, only to suddenly feel a sharp stab of pain as Kitchel slammed her heel down on his foot.

            Rune sighed. "I tried to stop them, Rath! But they wouldn't listen to me," he glared at them. He turned back to Rath and blinked. Rath was staring icily at Bierrez. _Oh man…well at least he doesn't have a weapon!_ He narrowed his eyes on Bierrez. _But…wait…_

            Bierrez walked over to Rath and stopped a few feet away from him. "Well, why should I bother keeping up this façade?" he said smiling. Black and dark green winds started to swirl around him.

            Cesia straightened with a start. _The same winds…those are exactly the same!_

            When the winds dispersed, his whole look changed totally. His hair was a little a longer and he wore a dark green vest over a long sleeved black shirt and the faded, white armbands went up from his wrist to his elbow. His pants were also black, an olive green sash wrapped around it. A sheathe was attached to the sash. He smiled at Cesia, making her shudder. "Yes, you have seen these winds before, haven't you?"

            Rath moved in front of her, his gaze never wavering. "You're yokai."

            His friends turned and looked at him. "Yokai?!"

            Bierrez smiled. "So, you have awakened a little, if to an odd trait. I'm surprised you picked up my presence."

            "Yours has a different energy around it. I could pick it up easily."

            "Is that so…?" Bierrez smirked. "So, what are you going to do about it? I only came here for one reason. And that is to take Cesia back to Nadil."

            Cesia stared at him horrified. _Nadil?_ A million horrific images flashed through her mind instantaneously, screams filling her ears. Everywhere there was blood and corpses, many of them missing several parts of their body, worms and maggots already crawling over them. Every house was ablaze, the sound of trapped inhabitants screaming for help, crying to be let free from their death trap. 

            "Nadil?! Who the hell is Nadil?!" Rath yelled and glared at Bierrez, who started to speak but was cut off by Kitchel's scream.

            Everyone turned and stared in horror at Cesia. She was clutching herself so tight, Kitchel was afraid she was going to cut herself with her own nails. Her body was racking spasmodically, gasping at a dangerously fast pace. Her eyes were blank and wide open. The bench suddenly burst into pieces as the wind suddenly exploded around her, and Cesia was now floating a little off from the ground.

Rath moved toward her. "Cesia!" He suddenly stepped back bracing himself as a gigantic burst of wind blew against him, and cringed as he felt the wind start cutting through his clothing. _What is with this wind?!_

"Cesia-chan!!" Kitchel yelled as she ran forward, only to be pulled back by Thatz. She glared angrily at him. "Let me go! I have to help Cesia!!"

"That really wouldn't be a good idea," Thatz said without looking at her. 

"Something's wrong," Rune said.

"Well that's the understatement of the year!!!" Kitchel yelled at him.

"That's not what I meant. Bierrez hasn't moved an inch." He frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. "He knows what's going on."

Kitchel looked at him and turned back to Cesia, staring at her helplessly. _Cesia-chan…What's wrong with you? What's happening?!_ It both frightened and amazed her how the wind seemed to be swirling ferociously around Cesia, protecting her it seemed.  But her friend was still in unbelievable pain and the deafening noise coming from the wind was driving her insane. Was this part of Bierrez's attack? 

The wind suddenly started to slowly die down and Cesia felt the pain also slowly going away. She could breathe a little easier, but she was shaking and the screams and images still pounded in her mind. A new image started to emerge. It was of a tall man dressed all in black, his hand reaching out to her. He seemed to be drawing closer to her, his deep purple eyes piercing into her soul. _Wake up…_ A sudden flash of light made her blink and an image of a pair of eyes flashed before her as she hurtled back to reality with a shock, the winds immediately dispersing.

"Well, that was quite an interesting show…"

Everyone turned to the newcomer standing behind Cesia, who was still floating a little off the ground, her eyes still blank and seeming to be in a trance. The stranger, his fluffy white hair wafting in the gentle breeze that had replaced the once ferocious winds, looked at them with no emotion showing on his elegant face.

"YOU!" both Bierrez and Rath yelled. They glanced at each other quickly and turned back to face the stranger. 

"Kharl what are you doing her?!" Bierrez shouted.

Rath glanced at Bierrez again. _He knows him…and he is the same one who had entered into my dreams…_

The one he called Kharl gave him a surreptitious smile. "You were taking far too long…" He gently stroked Cesia's cheek with a long, slender finger, making Rath clench his fist. "And I wanted to check up on our little…key…"

Rath's eyes snapped open. _Key?_ He remembered what Kharl had told him in his dream: _The key has yet to be placed to unlock the secrets within you…_ Was Cesia the key that Kharl meant? If she was, how?

Kharl smiled when he saw the look of realization on Rath's face. "Figured it out have you?" He glanced over at the others and looked at Rune. "And you…you have awakened to one of your powers…"

Rune stiffened. _He knows?_ "I don't know what you are talking about."

Kharl smiled again. "I'm afraid you do. And I am grateful you used it…for it helped strengthen our little prospect here…" He lifted and turned Cesia's face gently towards his and examined her. "My, my, she is a pretty one isn't she?"

Cesia started to break out of her trance and painfully moved her now clouded over amber eyes away from Kharl's imposing green ones to see Rath. He looked as if he was miles away, but she could see the hatred, anger, and frustration welling up in him. "Rath…" she hoarsely called out but could no longer keep her eyes open.

Kharl smiled. "Well, well, well. She broke out of the trance I had placed upon her, even if for a few seconds. She _does_ have a lot of power within her…" He suddenly jumped back, releasing his hold on Cesia, making her collapse to the ground. He had just barely dodged a fireball that had hurtled past his face. He turned and saw Rath standing with both arms outstretched, palms facing toward him. A bright, fiery glow surrounded the enraged Rath, his red eyes now burning with fire.

"Get…away…from Cesia…Kharl," Rath said, each word dripping with the hatred he felt for the yokai. 

Kharl narrowed his eyes. "Well this was a bit…unexpected… But no matter. This will be more…fun." He grinned and disappeared in a whirl of black and dark green wind, only to reappear next to Bierrez. "I think it is now your turn?"

Bierrez looked at Kharl. "Was all that really necessary?"

The yokai just smiled. "In life, whatever happens becomes necessary. Only then will it bring the desired consequences."

Bierrez glared at him. "I do not desire to become your toy, Kharl."

Kharl narrowed his eyes and Bierrez grabbed his right arm in pain. "Have you forgotten that I have control over you?"

"Grr…" Bierrez gritted his teeth and straightened as he unsheathed his sword. "Fine. But I will not succumb to you so easily." He turned to Rath. "Rath! We'll settle this once and for all!"

Rath held out his hand and flames started to swirl around it, forming a sword. He grasped it, never leaving his eyes off Bierrez. "We'll settle it alright. And I'll settle it by making you dead."

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.o;;; This took me WAY too long @_@ *shakes her head, clearing her mind* Ugh…anyway, that put a strain on my brain…is it just me, or has this fic gotten more serious? O.o;; Well, we're nearing the showdown! Actually it's going to start in the next chapter, but you know what I mean. ^.~ Bet you guys didn't expect what Rath was going to say! Actually I had really forgotten what it was before .;;; Lol, anyway, stay tuned for Chapter 9: Awakenings! (yes I already figured out a title before I even wrote it .) Remember, I love you guys reviewing me!! =D!


	9. Awakenings

Chapter 9: Awakenings

Okay! *cracks her knuckles and prepares to continue* Hm…*gets a water bottle first .;* Okay, NOW I'm ready to go! Time: 5:45 A.M. Stat: Starting the new chapter. Importance of all this: None really. *coughs* That's right folks, I start working at around 5:30-5:45 in the MORNING! =D Sometimes I finish before school, if not, really close . But enough of this nonsense! Let the fight…BEGIN!! *rings the bell* Oh by the way…for those of you who get queasy easily, you have been warned o_o; It's not really THAT bad…but eh when I was originally picturing the scene I almost got sick….; Also, this is a rather uh…long chapter o.O;

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         The tension in the air was starting to choke Kitchel. Or maybe it was because Thatz had her in a type of headlock. It was the latter and she kicked his shin, forcing him to let her go. 

         "Why the hell did you do that for?!" Thatz yelled at her while stooping down, clutching his leg.

         "You were choking me you idiot!!!" Kitchel screamed back.

         "Will you two just be QUIET!!!" Rune yelled at them glaring. He sighed when they immediately hushed and turned back to where Rath and Bierrez were staring at each other. "This is NOT the time for you to start arguing. We have to get Cesia out of danger while Rath is busy with Bierrez. Got that?"

         The two saluted. "Yes, sir!"

         With a small sweatdrop on his head, Rune nodded. "All right, then hop to it! And don't bring attention to yourselves!" he added as they hurried over to Cesia, who was lying unconscious on the ground. He turned his attention back to Rath and Bierrez. _Rath, don't kill yourself…_

The two fighters were staring at each other, neither of them noticing Thatz and Kitchel sneaking over and taking Cesia away. It was in the next instant when they charged and slammed their swords against each other's, releasing an explosion of energy, both fire and demonic. Rath kept his sword steady as Bierrez tried to push his sword down on Rath's, but the dark red haired fighter never blinked nor gave any sign of backing down. The yokai gritted his teeth as they both jumped back, and he charged again at Rath who didn't move. 

"I've got you now," Bierrez grinned as he quickly phased behind Rath and jumped up. As he landed, his sword flying toward Rath's neck, he opened his eyes in surprise as his sword suddenly met Rath's sword, which had been swiftly held it up behind him. Surprisingly still, Rath was holding his sword with one hand. _Damn, how he is able to hold me back with just one hand?! Is he that strong?!_

Rath turned his head slightly and looked at Bierrez. "My turn." In a blink of an eye, Rath turned and slashed at Bierrez, who quickly, though barely, dodged and parried it. Rath continued to attack Bierrez with such speed that the yokai had trouble keeping up.

Rune watched all of this in amazement, and in horror. He had never seen Rath with such an intent look to kill on his face before. It was as if his friend had forgotten everything around him and was only being driven by the desire to kill and annihilate his foe. _Is he doing this…_because_ of Cesia…or _for_ her…_ The thought troubled him. Had Cesia caused all of this? He shook his head, saying to himself that she couldn't have. She wouldn't. It was at this time that Thatz and Kitchel came back, Thatz carrying Cesia in his arms while Kitchel hissed threats at him if he tried to do anything. 

         "Like _I_ would do anything to _her_?!" Thatz glared at her.

         She just glared right back at him and watched like a mother hen as he gently laid her down on a patch of grass. She couldn't keep herself composed any longer as she fell to her knees, her hands covering her face as she finally released the tears she had been restraining for so long. _Oh Cesia…_ She blinked when she felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Rune looking at her reassuringly.

         "It'll be okay, Kitchel. I can help her." He stooped down and held his hand above Cesia, a soft glow emitting from it. Rune closed his eyes, but hesitated. _What if I can't do it? What if I'm not strong enough? _He felt his power waver when he felt another hand on top of his. He blinked and saw, if faintly, a girl's face in front of his, one hand gently caressing his cheek while the other held his hand. Her pale green eyes were looking into his and her light, blonde hair flowed gently in the wind as she gave him a soft smile.

_Everything will be all right, Rune. Just relax and have faith in yourself, as I have faith in you._ Her voice was soft and gentle, and a sense of relief washed over him. She leaned forward, and to Rune's utter astonishment, kissed him gently on the cheek. _Believe in yourself. I await your return, my dear Rune… _A soft breeze blew through and she disappeared.

Rune blinked, unsure if he was going to be able to take it all in. He suddenly realized that the glow emitting from his hand had become brighter, stronger, and now Cesia herself was glowing with the same light. To Rune's relief he saw her chest rising and falling and she started to wake up.

         Cesia slowly sat up, placing her hand on her forehead. "Where…am I…?" She blinked when Kitchel suddenly hugged her. "Kitchel?"

         "Oh Cesia you're all right!! You're all right!!" Kitchel cried as she hugged her friend, the now unstoppable tears streaming down her face.

         Cesia smiled and hugged back. "Yes…I'm fine…" She turned to Rune. "Thank you…again…"

         Thatz blinked and peered at Rune. "Again? You've done this before?"

         "Yes," he said matter-of-factly then looked at his hand. "It seems I have this power to heal…" He absent-mindedly reached up and brushed his cheek. _That…girl… _A name was trying to make itself known, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure it out.

         Thatz looked at Rune quizzically. _He had been staring at something before…what was it?_ His attention snapped back to attention when he heard a yell.

         Bierrez held his right side, where Rath had been finally able to slash him. He knew his body would be able to heal, but it was taking longer than usual. _His sword…_ He started in realization. _It's the Sword of Fire!_

         Rath saw Bierrez's concentration break and took the opportunity by swiftly driving his sword straight into the yokai. The yokai's bright, orange eyes widened in surprise as he hacked up blood and slumped over. "Never take your attention away from a fight," Rath said in a voice that seemed to be not his. "It could cost you your life." Rath pulled out his sword and Bierrez feel down onto his knees, clutching his stomach.

         Kharl gritted his teeth. "Apparently Bierrez was still too inept…but he did stay in the fight for this long. Garfakcy!"

         A sudden burst of smoke appeared next to him and small human boy with long orange and slightly spiky hair, his bangs a darker orange color, emerged from it. He looked at Kharl with his green eyes, mischief dancing in them. "Yes, Master Kharl?"

         "Take Bierrez back and heal him. I'll finish things up here."

         Garfakcy smiled. "Of course! Seems he wasn't able to finish it, huh?"

         Kharl looked at his young assistant. "No, I'm afraid not. Like they say, 'If you have to get a job done right, you have to do it yourself.' Oh well."

         "Hehe. Right and Left Bird are upset that they aren't able to feast on some human souls," Garfakcy said grinning up at him.

"Is that so? Well then I'll just have to bring some souvenirs…" Kharl gave Garfakcy such a malicious smile that the young boy shuddered in spite of himself and threw some ashes down, disappearing into the smoke. Kharl turned his attention back to the other group. "Maybe a nice, young human girl would fill their appetites…"

         Rath held his sword at Bierrez's neck, his now dark, blood red eyes staring into Bierrez's life, fading orange ones. "Now it is time for me to end your painful suffering."

         Bierrez glared at him, not wanting to die like a coward. As he felt the sword coming down on him, he suddenly blinked and found himself surrounded in smoke and felt himself being pulled away. "Garfakcy?!"

         "Yeah yeah, man you gained some weight!" the young boy grumbled as he and Bierrez disappeared in another explosion of smoke.

         Rath shielded his eyes and looked back in slight surprise when the smoke cleared. _Oh well…it is just prolonging his inevitable death…_ He was a little irritated, however, that Bierrez had somehow escaped. He looked at his sword. _Return…_ It suddenly turned back into swirling flames and he felt it re-enter into his body. He looked at where the sword had once been. _Such…power…I've never felt anything like it…_

         "RATH!!"

         He blinked and turned around, only to be nearly toppled over by Cesia. "Cesia?" She just responded by hugging him tightly, burying her face into his chest as she cried into it. Rath looked at her for a moment then gently held her. "It's okay now…" he murmured.

         Kitchel was biting down on a tissue, her eyes big and watery as she watched the scene in front of her. Thatz just looked at her sweatdropping. He glanced up and grabbed her, pushing her out of the way from some vines that had suddenly dropped and were now wriggling around the ground.

         Kitchel yelled at him. "What the heck was that for?!"

         "I just saved your life, you idiot!" he yelled back. _Maybe I shouldn't have bothered…_

         She blinked. "Huh?"  
         He sighed and pointed to where the vines had grabbed a squirrel. To their horror, the vines tightened their grip on the unfortunate creature and after a never shattering scream burst it into pieces. Its blood splattered everywhere, bits of its fur clinging to the side of the tree, only to be sucked into the bark by tiny pairs of teeth that had grown out of the tree. Other piercing screams could be heard from within the tree as its animal inhabitants found themselves either being eaten alive or ripped to shreds by the thorny vines. The head of another squirrel fell to the ground, half of its face gone, the eye sockets empty and covered with blood and, to Thatz utter disgust, bits of its brain oozing out from within. All of this was soon devoured by the carnivorous tree, the roots rising from the ground and dragging the head underground.

Kitchel covered her mouth in horror. "Oh…my…God…"

. _That could have been Kitchel!_ Thatz realized with a sickening jolt and looked around to see Kharl still standing where he was before, his hand raised in the direction of the tree. "Kharl!!"

The yokai just looked at him and started chanting, his voice taking on an ethereal echo. "_Vines of death, wrap thyself around thy prey and feed thy master its blood…ensnare thy victim and take its life so that it is on this Earth nevermore…_"

The vines had been swaying harmlessly while Kharl was chanting his incantation, so Thatz took the opportunity to drag Kitchel out of harm's way and now stood in front of her. He didn't know what he would do if the vines somehow reached them, but he would try and protect Kitchel for as long as possible. He braced himself as the vines suddenly flew at them, Kharl still chanting. To his surprise, though, the vines suddenly turned and he quickly whirled around, only to find Kitchel rooted to the ground, literally. He realized in horror that the attack had been intended to be from behind and below as the roots from the tree wrapped themselves around Kitchel's legs, disabling her from running. 

As if in slow motion, Thatz saw the vines coming from behind Kitchel, racing toward her unguarded back. He could suddenly hear and feel the ground shaking beneath him and felt a voice cry out to him from deep inside. _Call me! Call for my power!_ As a strong breeze blew past him he raised his hand, rock swirling around it, forming a sword. He gripped the hilt and raised it up, the tip pointing the sky. A strong gust of wind whirled around him, picking up rocks and earth. He could feel the words flow up to his mouth and while hearing another voice chanting in sync with his own, Thatz chanted, "_Land who enables all to inhabit this Earth, and shapes this world with its magnificent structure, lend me your power to protect my friend and create a barrier between us and our enemy!_" He brought down his sword and jabbed it into the ground, creating an explosion of rock and earth as a giant crack formed from it. With the tornado of rock surrounding him, he yelled, "EARTH ARISE!" and jabbed his sword deeper into the ground.

         The wind exploded and pushed the ground forward as the crack sped after it. Kitchel braced herself but couldn't tear her eyes away from the vines that were heading toward her as she looked backwards. She felt the strong burst of wind and with a thunderous crash the ground from behind her rose up, forming a barrier just as the vines hit. She could hear the vines smashing themselves against the relentless wall of earth and the barrier soon spread to form a circle a circle of rock around her and Thatz. 

         _Wind sends the Earth faster…_

         Thatz stood there gasping and looked at the sword in his hands. _What the…heck was that…just now?!_ The wind around them started to calm and the roots released their hold of Kitchel's legs, the ground hardening and cutting them. She staggered for a moment and stared at him. He blinked. "…What?"

         She jumped into his arms and hugged him, crying, "You dumb jerk!" as she did so. She punched him in the chest, sobbing uncontrollably. "You could have killed yourself, you idiot!"

         Thatz just stood there and let her hit him. When she finally stopped and stood there glaring at him, he just grinned. "I know…but I'd prefer seeing you live than dying and have you yell at me through all eternity."

         She stared at him then looked away, slightly embarrassed. "Er…we're stuck here aren't we?"

         Thatz looked around the circle of rock around them, the vines still trying to smash through. "Looks like it." He blinked. "Wait a sec, where's Rune?!"

         "And Cesia and Rath are outside, too!!"

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Rune, distracted by Bierrez sudden disappearance and busily studying the ash that was still on the ground, turned and jumped away in time as a vine flew right past his face. "What the--?!" He turned to Rath and Cesia and saw vines flying toward them, too. "RATH! CESIA! LOOK OUT!!"

Rath quickly looked behind him and pulled Cesia out of the way, wincing a little as the spiked tip vine just missed his arm. While still holding Cesia with his left arm, he quickly reformed his sword and parried any vines that came their way. He gritted his teeth as another vine cut the side of his leg. "Damn…where are they all coming from?"

Cesia tried to pinpoint the source, but it was as if all the trees were now possessed. She looked up at him worriedly. "Rath, you can't protect me like this for much longer…"

"I will," he said through clenched teeth. "Don't worry about me."

"But Rath—" Her eyes widened as a multitude of vines suddenly flew toward them from all sides, their sharp spiked tips glinting in the sunlight. 

Rath saw it all coming and swore under his breath. _Damn! I can't stop all of those at once! _He hugged Cesia tight to him, knowing that at least if the vines should hit, they would hit him and not her. _I just have to protect Cesia…if she lives through this then my death will have been worth it…_ It was then when he heard Cesia saying something.

_"Winds, come to thy mistress and protect the one with thy power…Come to thy mistress and heed my prayers to help the one I hold most dear…_" A sudden burst of wind swirled around them as the vines hit. The gigantic burst blew the vines away from them, but the vines would not be stopped by the winds and Rath knew Cesia would not be able to hold this up in her weakened her state. 

Master…call out my name… 

Rath blinked. A voice? He could feel fire burning deep inside him, pushing desperately to be released. _Call out my name, Rath. I can help you protect Cesia… Call out to me, Rath!! _

Cesia blinked and saw the wind surrounding them. _I called the winds…? How?_ She looked up at Rath to ask but her eyes widened as he started to glow red, fire blazing in his eyes. He held up his sword horizontally in front of them, the blade now glowing and swirling with flames. She could feel the heat emitting from it and wondered how Rath's hands were not being burned. She blinked when Rath started chanting and heard another voice chanting the same words with him. 

"Fire from the deepest part of Hell, come to me and burn the ones who threaten us! Let your tongues of death scorch and annihilate those who stand before!" The wind increased its speed around them as he chanted, flames now mingling with it. "HELLFIRE!" In a giant explosion of wind and fire, Rath's sword shot out blasts of flame out to the incoming vines, disintegrating them into ash as well as forming a wall of fire around them. The winds spread the fire around them, inflicting serious damage to the trees around them. Rath lowered his sword heavily and breathed deeply. What in the world… He felt Cesia hugging him and his strength seemed to return, if slowly. Wind spreads the Fire farther… 

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         Rune watched in amazement as he saw the ground rose up around Thatz and Kitchel and the fire and wind whirled around Rath and Cesia, but that left him to dodge the incoming vines. Lucky for him he was far enough away from the main tree, so he didn't have to worry too much. But the vines were coming in at a faster pace. He also wasn't sure how long he could keep up dodging. _There's got to be a way to stop this,_ he thought as he narrowly missed another vine attack. _They just keep coming! If only they would stop moving…_ He blinked. Stopped moving. If he could somehow get the vines to stop moving he could figure out a better plan and help his friends escape. He glanced around but kind find no trace of Kharl. _Had he left us? If so…why?_

         _Ice…_

         Rune blinked. Ice? That would freeze the vines, thus stopping them…but where was he going to get ice? Rath's fire attack had weakened the vines some, but Kharl was also healing them and it wouldn't be long before they would attack again in full swing. From his point of view he could see both of his friends' barriers starting to wear down and knew it wouldn't be too long before they were gone completely. _Call me…_

         He blinked and jumped away from another vine attack. Something was flowing through him…_like water,_ he thought. Water… Rune was tiring from dodging the vines. _These are really getting on my nerves_, he thought as he ducked another vine. _Stop them…_ a voice said in his mind. _Call me…Rune…_

         Rune felt a cool breeze blow through him and he raised his arms up and swirl of water surrounded them, forming a sword. He grasped the hilt with both hands and held the sword pointed toward the sky. Energy surged through his body like a mighty river. His long blond hair blew wildly as a strong burst of wind whirled around. When he spoke, his voice echoed with the voice another as he chanted, "_Faeries come to my aid as I draw forth from your watery realm the power to vanquish my foe! Freeze all who oppose me so that they move no more!!" _The wind increased its speed and Rune snapped his eyes open as he yelled, "BLIZZARD STORM!"

         The winds became torrents of sleet and ice as they surged forward, freezing everything in its path. From Rune's sword came forth more icy wind, which then turned into daggers of ice. They cut the vines to shreds and imbedded themselves deep into the demonic trees, instantly freezing the trees. 

         Rune narrowed his eyes as brought his right fist down, his left still holding the sword up, and clenched it as he yelled, "ICE SHATTER!" In one giant explosion, everything that was frozen shattered like glass into millions of pieces. 

_Wind makes the Water destructive…_

Rune stood there panting as he stared as the wind calmed and the ice started to melt. Where the trees once stood there were now just shattered pieces of wood. He lowered both his arms and stared at the sword in his hands in shock. _What the… _He turned to the others, who were now running toward him. He was relieved to see everyone all right. _I did it…_ he thought surprised as Cesia and Kitchel hugged him while Rath and Thatz smiled at him.

         Kharl gritted his teeth. Things were not going as planned. He hadn't anticipated for all three of them to awaken at the same time, and with such power as they had shown. He sighed. _Oh well…there's still time…_ he thought smiling as the dark winds surrounded him and he disappeared from the world. 

         "Dude, Rune, that was awesome!" Thatz yelled as he thumped his friend on the back.

         "Thatz!" Rune laughed in spite of himself.

         Rath grinned and started to speak but stopped and turned. He narrowed his eyes. "Show yourself."

         There was a rustle of leaves as a tall short, blonde hair man walked out onto the path, his gentle but deep light, green eyes looking at them. He was wearing a long sleeved, light turquoise colored shirt with white pants, but there were intricate designs of different colors and design all around his shirt and numerous straps as well. A long sword was hanging from one a light blue sash wrapped around his waist. His long, white cape floated gently behind him and as he approached he had the look of royalty written all over him, even if he did try to seem casual. 

         The stranger stopped in front of them and gave them a kind smile. "Congratulations on your first battle! We have been waiting for all of you to finally awaken."

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w00t! Man that was a LONG chapter o.O; 7, that's right, SEVEN pages long o.o; Hope you guys enjoyed it though ^_^ I was going to split this up, but decided not to =P Note: I'm really not sure how Rath, Thatz, and Rune use their powers, but the way I did it I think I made them look better than they really are . I think Rune looked super cool the way I did it =D! That is…if you guys picture it the same way…*coughs* You guys know who that newcomer is? ^.^ If you don't, you you should go back to DK school o_O;; Anyway, stay tune for Chapter 10!


	10. Draqueen

Chapter 10: Draqueen

Sorry for the late update x.x I was still working out some kinks that were going to come up later, but I think I got it =D Well, enjoy!

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            The group stared at the stranger. His garments were like something that would appear in a fantasy manga and they could tell that he was not from their world. After an awkward silence, Rune stepped forward.

            "May I ask who you are?" he asked staring at the newcomer. 

            "You may," he responded smiling. "I am Lykouleon, Dragon Lord of Draqueen."  
            They stared at him for a moment and then said together, "You're loony."

            A small sweat bead appeared on Lykouleon's head. "I figured you wouldn't believe me. But I am."

            "How can we know you're not some demon Kharl sent?" Rath said, his eyes never leaving the supposed Dragon Lord. _His aura is different…_

            Lykouleon just smiled. "You can tell that I am different, can you not, Rath, Dragon Knight of Fire."

            Rath blinked and narrowed his eyes. "How do you know my name? And what do you mean by Dragon Knight?"

            "I know a lot more than you think." He looked at them. "All of you."

            Rune stared at the Dragon Lord. "How can you know about us? You're not even from this world from what I can see."

            "You must be loaded if you're wearing all th—OW!!" Thatz yelled as he hopped around on one foot after Kitchel slammed her foot onto his.

            Kitchel glared at him. "Serves you right! You shouldn't talk to strangers like that!! You could give him the wrong impression about us!!"

            Lykouleon suppressed a chuckle and turned back to Rune. "You are right in your observation. I am _not_ from Earth."

            The group blinked. "You're not?" they said in amazement.

            "I have come to personally bring you back home."

            Thatz blinked. "You came all this way just to take us back to our houses?"

            The Dragon Lord laughed. "No, no. I meant back home to Draqueen."

            "Draqueen?" Cesia asked.

            He now turned to her. "Yes…"

            "Where's that?"

            He looked up and thought for a moment. "Well that is actually rather hard to explain…the best way is to take you there," he said smiling.

            Rath took a step in front of Cesia. "You're not taking us anywhere. I still don't trust you."

            "And why is that?"

            "You just expect us to go and join a complete stranger without knowing anything else about him?! You sound like a crazy freak if you ask me!"

            Rune glared at him. "Rath! That's no way to speak to Lord Lykouleon!!" He blinked. "That was…I didn't even think to add the title…"

            "I think…we should go."

            Everyone turned to Cesia. She was staring at Lykouleon thoughtfully. "I can sense he has great power…but his power is for good, and not evil." She smiled at her friends. "What is there to lose? Frankly, I would like to see Draqueen."

            Rath stared at her. "…Is that what you really want?"

            "Yes."  
            He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. "All right then." He glared at Lykouleon. "But you better explain all of this to us when we get there!"

            The Dragon Lord sweatdropped. _What a temper…_ "Of course. Everything will be explained to you, including Kharl and Nadil's army."

            _Nadil?!_ Cesia took a step back and caught her back. _No, no…I'm just over reacting over nothing. Stay calm…calm…_

            Kitchel glanced over at her friend. "Are you okay, Cesia-chan?"  
            She smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am. Don't worry about me!"

            "…" Kitchel turned back to Lykouleon. "Is there anything we need? And how are we getting there?"  
            "Everything will be provided once we reach Draqueen. And to get there…" He turned to Rath, Thatz, and Rune. "We will need your Dragon powers."

            "Dragon powers?" Rune repeated. "Do you mean…?"  
            Thatz stared at his hand where his sword had once been. "You mean those were Dragon powers?! AWESOME!!"

            Kitchel sweatdropped. _Weirdo…_ "Okay then, lets go!"

            She and Cesia watched as Lykouleon position the three boys around him in a triangle formation. They joined Lykouleon in the center and watched in amazement as the three boys started to glow different colors: Rath red, Rune blue, and Thatz green. Lykouleon was emitting a soft white light around them and Cesia could feel the power overwhelm her. 

            Lykouleon unsheathed his sword and raised it up high. "FIRE!"

            Rath snapped his eyes open, now a dark, crimson red, as his sword formed in his hand. He raised it up and pointed it towards Lykouleon's as flames surrounded him. 

            The Dragon Lord then turned to Rune. "WATER!"

            With his eyes still closed, Rune raised his arms up as water swirled around them, forming his sword. When he opened his eyes, they were a dark, liquid blue, and he pointed his word toward Lykouleon's, water swirling around his whole body.

            Lykouleon now faced Thatz. "EARTH!"

            Kitchel blinked when she watched Thatz. Earth erupted all around him as he held out his hand. Rock and dirt swirled around his hand as his sword formed. When he raised it up, he opened his eyes, now a dark, forest green, and giant pieces of rock surged upward.

            Now with his own sword raised up high, Lykouleon yelled, "DEUS COME FORTH!"

            A large rumbling could be heard all around them as each of the boys' powers went to Lykouleon's sword. Cesia shielded her eyes from the bright light that now surrounded them. She moved her hand slightly and saw a white dragon flash before her. A moment later she found herself in a strange room. There was a large, intricately designed mahogany desk centered in the back of the room, large windows behind it. There were also several chairs and various plants situated around the room. Portraits of what she assumed to be past rulers were hung all around the walls. She turned around and blinked when she saw Rath, who was leaning against the wall next to the two double doors. He looked a little older and his hair had grown a bit longer. It was the same thing with Thatz and Rune.

            "ARGH!! NO!! I DON'T WANT MY HAIR LONGER!!" Rune yelled as he held his now waist length hair. 

            Thatz blinked then burst out laughing. "If you didn't look like a girl before, you sure do now!!!!" He quickly grabbed Rune's sword as the enraged Dragon Knight tried to press his blade down upon Thatz.

            Kitchel ignored them and wandered over to an expensive looking vase standing on a table. She was examining it, wondering how much it would be worth, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see a stoic face staring at her, his stern black eyes seeming to pore through her. 

            "I hope you were not planning to steal that vase, young lady," the stranger said. Wearing a dark blue suit, a dark red sash across the front, and with several ornately designed tassels hanging from his shoulders, he looked like a general from an army. His stern, yet stoic looking face didn't help ease her nervousness either. 

            "Eh-heh…no, no! I was just admiring the craftsmanship!" she laughed nervously. 

            He looked at her a moment then turned back to Lykouleon, who now stood behind his desk. "Lord Lykouleon, I have come to bring you a report on our defense against Nadil's army."

            The Dragon Lord blinked and looked up. "Er, can it wait, Tetheus?"

            The group turned and stared at the stranger who had silently came in and watched as he glanced at them. "Of course, my Lord. I shall leave you alone to discuss their current situation if you wish."

            "No, no, that's all right. I think it would be best if you stayed anyway. Have you seen Alfeegi or Ruwalk?"

            Tetheus started to speak when the doors behind him burst open. The rather irritated looking stranger glared at Lykouleon. His blue-green hair was tied into a long ponytail in the back and was dressed with a white shirt that was lined with red at the collar and cuffs. He had black pants and a pale red sash around his waist. "LORD LYKOULEON!!" he yelled, his light orange eyes flaming. "How many times have I told you that you CANNOT leave the palace!!!!!!"

            Lykouleon sweatdropped. "Um…I have a good reason?"

            Thatz burst out laughing but was immediately hushed by a glare from the newcomer. He backed up as the stranger advanced toward him, a finger raised. "YOU CANNOT LAUGH AT THE DRAGON LORD LIKE THAT!!!"

            "Alfeegi!" Lykouleon looked at him sternly.

            Alfeegi blinked and quickly turned to look at Lykouleon. "But my Lord—"

            "I have the right to decide when I may come and go and these five are our guests."

            "…As you wish…"

            The Dragon Lord's look softened. "Now, Alfeegi, don't worry. Everything is all right. I came back safe and sound, didn't I?"

            "But Kharl was there!!" Alfeegi retorted. "And Nadil could have set up and ambush and if we lose you—"

            "Yeesh, Feeg, you need to calm down!" a voice behind him said, making Alfeegi jump. A stranger was looking at Alfeegi with an eyebrow raised, his brown eyes full of mischief. He wore a light green vest over a black shirt, the right side intricately designed with spirals, his pants also black with a dark green sash around his waist. His hair was an unusual color of dark brown with reddened tips. He walked passed the irritated Dragon Officer and went over to Lykouleon. "Hey, Lykouleon, how was your trip?"

            The Dragon Lord smiled. "It went well, Ruwalk." He leaned forward and whispered, "Thanks, by the way."

            "No problem," Ruwalk muttered back. "But it wasn't easy."

            Alfeegi stared at them, his eyes narrowed. "You two had better not be talking about your escape plane, Lord." He glared at Ruwalk. "And don't call me Feeg!! That is very disrespectful!! Not to mention downright annoying!!!!!"

            The two sweatdropped. Lykouleon coughed and changed the subject. "When will Kai-stern return?"           

            Alfeegi sighed. "I have no idea! Knowing him he'll just show up at the most random moments."

            "Everything seems to be random around here…" Kitchel muttered to Cesia, who tried to stifle a giggle.

            Rath cleared his throat. "Now that everyone seems to be here, except for this Kai-stern person, can you now explain everything to us?" He stared directly at Lykouleon.

            Everyone turned to him. Lykouleon blinked and nodded. "Fair question. Rath, Thatz, Rune, Cesia, and Kitchel, I'd like you to meet my Dragon Secretary." He placed a hand on Ruwalk's shoulder. "This is my very good friend since childhood and Secretary of State, Yellow Dragon Officer Ruwalk."

            Ruwalk smiled. "Howdy."  
            The Dragon Lord turned to the still irritated Alfeegi. "And this is my chief advisor and Chief Secretary, White Dragon Officer Alfeegi."

            Alfeegi bowed. "Glad to have you here…" 

            Lykouleon now waved his hand to Tetheus. "And this is Black Dragon Officer Tetheus, Secretary of Security."

            Tetheus just looked at them and nodded.

            "Unfortunately, Blue Dragon Officer Kai-stern is out on a trip to settle some foreign affairs in some distant kingdoms. He is the Secretary of Foreign Affairs."

            "Ooooh! Sounds like a fun job since he has to travel a lot!" Kitchel said. 

            Alfeegi coughed. "And who, may I ask, are they?" he asked, motioning with his hand to the group.

            Lykouleon smiled. "I was waiting for you to ask that. These three," he said, motioning to Rath, Thatz, and Rune, "are the three Dragon Knights, finally having awakened to their powers."

            The three Dragon Officers blinked. "Them?!" they both said in unison.

            "What? Are we too young or something?" Thatz asked.

            Alfeegi coughed. "Er…no…but…" He narrowed his eyes on Thatz. "You in particular don't seem to be fitting to be a Dragon Knight."

            "Hey! That's a rather harsh thing to say!" Thatz yelled offended.

            Ruwalk turned to Rune. "And you're…an elf?"

            Rune blinked. "An elf? I'm an elf?! WHAT?!"

            Ruwalk sweatdropped. "I take it you never noticed…"

            Rune grabbed his hair. "IS THAT WHY MY HAIR KEPT GROWING??!?!?"

            "Hey, hey! Calm down!" Ruwalk said sweatdropping. _Oh boy…got another Alfeegi…_

            Lykouleon was having a hard time not laughing. He coughed. "Yes, Rune. You actually belong to the Spirit Tribe of elves, who reside in the Water Realm of Faeries." He looked at the astounded Rune directly. "You are the Prince of them."

            "P-P-P-Prince?!?!" both Thatz and Rune yelled in unison.

            "You look more like a princess!!" Thatz laughed pointing. He quickly moved his hand as Rune made a swing at it with his sword.

            "And who are the two young ladies?" Tetheus asked, his face still showing no expression.

            Kitchel walked up to him. "Hiya! I'm Kitchel!"

            He looked at her blankly.

            "…You're not very talkative are ya…?" she asked sweatdropping.

            "I believe that one should speak only when needed."

            "Riiight…" _Weirdo…_ she thought to herself as she turned away and walked over to Cesia, who was looking at one of the paintings, and blinked. Her friend suddenly clutched the collar of her shirt and seemed to be in pain. "Cesia-chan…daijobu-ka?"

            "I…I don't know…demo…" she cringed. _It hurts inside…why?_

            Lykouleon looked at her for a moment then walked over to her. "Are you all right?" he asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Everyone turned to her, wondering what was going on.

            Rath blinked. _Her…her aura is…_

            "It hurts…from inside…" she said between breaths. "I…"

            The Dragon Officers narrowed their eyes and glanced at one another. "Lykouleon…" Alfeegi started to say.

            The Dragon Lord shook his head slightly at them then turned back to Cesia, his hand emitting a very soft glow on her shoulder. "It must be from the transportation. Your body might not have adjusted quite yet."

            She could feel the pain going away and blinked. "I feel better now…"

            Lykouleon smiled. "Maybe you should rest. Cernozura!"

            Thatz jumped to the side as a brown eyed, short flaxen haired woman poked her head out through the side door behind him. "Oh hello there!" She stepped out and bowed. "You called, my Lord?"

            "Yes, I would like you to show Ms. Cesia and Ms. Kitchel to their rooms, please."

            The attendant smiled. "Of course. Oh, by the way…" Her eyes narrowed and a look of doom was on her face. "Lady Raseleane is rather upset that you haven't seen her yet…" 

            Lykouleon sweatdropped. "Eh-heh…I'll see her in a moment," he said coughing.

            Thatz blinked. "Who's Raseleane?"

            "SHE'S THE QUEEN!!" Alfeegi snapped, lightning bolts erupting from him.

            "Eep," Thatz said as he peered behind Rune's shoulder.

            Rune glanced at him. "You seem to be getting on their bad side…"

            "I can't help it…I'm hungry," Thatz said sighing.

            "Hun…gry…?" Rune repeated twitching. "You're HUNGRY?!?!"

            "Hoy! Don't kill each other!!" Ruwalk yelled as he grabbed Rune's sword right before it created another scar on Thatz's face. "It's getting late anyway." He turned to Lykouleon sweatdropping. "Hoy, Lykouleon, what do you think about a welcoming feast?"

            "That would be a fine idea." He looked down at Cesia. "I'm sure you will at least eat before you turn in?"

            Cesia smiled. "Of course! I'm' sure the food here will be exquisite!"

            The Dragon Lord smiled then turned to Cernozura. "Sorry for the sudden change in plans, but could you escort them to the dining hall?"

            "Sure! Just make sure you see Lady Raseleane soon…" Her eyes narrowed and there was a look of doom in them. "Or you know what will happen…"

            "Yeesh, the Queen must be vicious or somethin'," Thatz commented as the followed the attendant out.

            "You shouldn't speak so ill of the Dragon Queen," Rune snapped. "You should show some more respect!"

            Rath watched has friends all pass him then caught Lykouleon's eye when they left the room. They looked at one another for a moment then Rath straightened. "You know something else. Something you're not telling us."

            Lykouleon just smiled. "I don't know what you're—"

            "Don't lie to me!" Rath interrupted.

            "…" The Dragon Lord turned away. "I have to speak with my Dragon Officers first. Then, I will tell you what you want to hear." He looked out the window. "Right now I'm not sure."

            Rath stared at his back. "…Fine. But don't forget." He stalked out of the room, where Cesia was waiting. He looked at her for a moment then continued walking. _I can't…_

            She blinked. "Eh…Rath?" He didn't acknowledge her and continued on. _What's…going on?_ She stood there for a moment then ran after the group when Kitchel called her.

            Lykouleon watched the whole scene and sighed as he sat down. Ruwalk looked at him. "Lykouleon?"

            The Dragon Lord looked at them squarely in the eyes. "There is something about Cesia that you should have noticed…"

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Ick, not really that great .o; Oh well, I was doing half of this on the plane ya know! Finished it in the hotel. Colorado has nice weather right now. ^^ It's a beautiful day, the weather absolutely perfect! *sighs* Wish it was like this every day where I live…*stares out the hotel window dreamily*


	11. Discoveries

Chapter 11: Discoveries

Okay, I have ample time now, so I must work on this fic! O_o!!! Whee a lot of stuff is gonna be revealed in this chappy! =D! yes I said chappy…and I don' t mean the diner . As I always like to say, er, yell, er command…oh whatever! READ ON!

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            "WAHOO!" Thatz yelled as he saw all the food laid out in front of him. "Now THAT is what I'm talking about!"

            Rune twitched and tried to ignore his vivacious eating noises as he turned to Cernozura. "Yes, thank you, Cernozura."

            The attendant smiled. "No problem! I'm just glad your friend over there likes the food…" she said staring at Thatz, a sweat bead forming on her head.

            Kitchel stared at the Dragon Knight from across the table disgustedly. "I would have hoped your manners would have improved…"

            Thatz blinked and looked at her, a piece of ham halfway to his mouth. "Eh?"

            "Ugh! Just eat already!" she yelled. She turned to her left and looked at Cesia. "Hey, Cesia-chan, what do you think of the food?" No response. "Er…" Kitchel waved her hand in front of her friend's face. "Cesia-chan? Daijobu-ka?" _I've been asking that a lot lately…_

            Cesia blinked and looked at her friend. "Oh, gomen ne, K-chan…I've just been…thinking…"

            "'Bout what?" Thatz asked in between mouthfuls.

            "Finish chewing before you talk!" Rune snapped. He glanced over at Rath who sat on the other side of Thatz, directly across from Cesia. He hadn't touched his meal. Instead he was just staring at seemingly nothing, holding the goblet in his right hand. _Rath…_

            "Nothing important," Cesia said as Rath suddenly got up and exited the room. She blinked and looked after him. "Er…"

            "What is up with him?!" Kitchel yelled annoyed. "Ever since we got here he's been all silent and gloomy and…stuff!"

            Cernozura held the tray in her hands, staring after the Dragon Knight. _He's heading to Lykouleon's office…_ She blinked when the Dragon Officers came in. "Oh, more diners?"

            Ruwalk pulled up a chair next to Cesia. "Yep, so whatcha got?"

            "The usual."

            "Sounds good," Alfeegi said, sitting next to Rune.

            Tetheus sat next to Kitchel, much to her surprise. He glanced at her when he saw her staring at him. "What?"

            "Uh, er, nothing!" she said as she quickly went back to her food.

            Everyone stared at for a moment then went back to eating as Cernozura served the Dragon Officers their meals.

            "Can anyone pass that drum stick?" Thatz asked.

            "That's your fifth serving already!!" Rune exclaimed.

            "I'm a growing boy!" Thatz said back.

            Alfeegi rubbed his temples. "The bills…"

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            Lykouleon looked up as Rath entered and they stared at each other for a moment. "Back so soon?"  
            "Don't play games with me," Rath said. "Just tell me. Is Cesia a yokai?"  
            The Dragon Lord looked into Rath's eyes and could see a slight hint of pain within them. "Partly," he said without looking away.

            Rath blinked. _She's part yokai…? Why? Why didn't I sense this before…_ "You're lying! There's no way she could be part yokai!!" he yelled angrily as he started to turn and leave

            "Rath!" Lykouleon said harshly, making the young Dragon Knight stop where he was. The Dragon Lord sighed. "She's not just part yokai, Rath. And you can sense it, too. That's why you could never tell what she truly was. Even I am not sure what else she is."

            Rath stood there, his hand on the door handle. How can he protect Cesia if she's part yokai? The word made a bitter taste in his mouth and a sense of rage raged through him like a wild fire. He wasn't sure what he was going to do now… _But she's _not_ yokai…She can't be…_ He heard Lykouleon stand up and walk toward him. 

            "Rath, like I said, she is not full yokai. There is barrier that prohibits yokai from entering. She felt pain because of that. But she is only part yokai, so it didn't hurt as much as it would if she was full yokai. She would not have been able to enter Draqueen in the first place." He stopped behind the Dragon Knight. "Rath, she also has power. Power that neither she nor I know of. She is still the same person you have always known. She is not any different, nor ever will be."

            "I know that…" Rath said softly. "I know that…but…" He turned and faced the Dragon Lord. "I'm afraid…of what I might do…" He looked away. "I lost control of myself when I was fighting Bierrez in a sense. I didn't notice anything that went around me. The only thing I felt was the desire to kill him."

            Lykouleon stared at him for a moment then placed both of his hand on Rath's shoulders, looking at him squarely. "Rath. I cannot promise you what will happen to Cesia. But I can guarantee that _you_ will not harm her. Your desire to protect her overcomes your desire to kill yokai. Rath, do you know what you are?"

            Rath blinked. "What do you mean?"

            "You are a Dragon Knight, sworn to protect those you love. And you will use that power for that purpose. To protect the ones you love, not kill them." _I won't tell him what he truly is now…_ He let go of Rath's shoulders. "Trust me."

            "…I'm not so sure yet," Rath said as he turned. "But we'll see." He turned the door handle and exited the office, closing the door softly behind him.

            Lykouleon stared after him. "There is so much that neither you nor I know about all this…"

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Kitchel stared at Thatz boredly. "Are ever going to finish?"

The Dragon Knight just shook his head and continued on his twentieth course.

"How can you eat all of that?!" Alfeegi exclaimed.

"I think you should take it as a compliment," Ruwalk said amused. He turned to Cesia. "And you? Are you enjoying yourself?"

She blinked and looked at him. "Yes, the food is quite delicious…" She stared at Rath's empty seat. It had been thirty minutes and he still had not returned. His food had been left untouched as well. "Excuse me…" she said softly as she suddenly stood up and walked out of the dining hall.

Cernozura blinked. "Does she know her way around the palace?" she asked worriedly.

Kitchel stared after her friend for a moment then turned back around. "I think she just needs to be alone for a while…"

The Dragons glanced at each other then continued eating.

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            Rath walked down the long, elaborately decorated hallways and into his room, his mind deep in thought. What was he supposed to do now? What if those yokai came back? Should he let them take her? _She's part yokai…_ He shook his head furiously. No, he had sworn to protect her no matter what the costs. _Why did I make such a promise?_ He found a new set of clothes laid out on the bed and changed into them. Rath blinked when he saw himself in front of the mirror. He was now wearing a black shirt with a creamy milk colored vest-like jacket over it. He tucked the shirt in the jet-black pants and wrapped the dark, crimson red sash around his waist. Rath tugged at his bangs. _When did _these_ get to be so long?_ After strapping on his boots he walked out of his room, giving it one last glance. It looked big enough to fit a family.

Rath closed his door and walked out, his boots making soft thudding noises as he walked across the marble floor. After a while, he stood in front of a window that opened up to a balcony. He walked through it and leaned against the railing, staring across the moonlit garden, his mind straying back to his previous thoughts. Why did he? Was it some spur of the moment thing that he thought up? _No…I know I've promised that somewhere else before…_

            He shook his head and jumped over the railing, down to the garden below. He landed on his feet with a soft thud and straightened. It was a nice night, the full moon reflecting the sun's light down in front of him, showing the way. There was just the slightest hint of a breeze. He continued walking, his boots crunching on the rock path. He heard a water fountain ahead of him and stepped out into the opening, only to stop short. There, sitting on the edge of the water fountain, trailing her hand in the water, was the last person he had expected to see, yet the person he was thinking about the most.

            Cesia blinked and stood up straightening to see Rath standing there on the end of the walkway. A gust of wind blew between them as they stared at each other for a moment. Rath was the first to look away and walked around the perimeter. Hedges surrounded the area, four paths leading from each side. The fountain was twenty feet wide in diameter, and including the outer walkway, the whole circular area was thirty feet wide. 

When he returned back to where he had started, Rath looked up at Cesia, who had been watching him the whole time. "So…"

"…So…"

An awkward silence settled between them. "Rath, I…" Cesia started to say just as Rath said, "Cesia, I…" The two blinked.

"You first," Cesia said.

"No, you," Rath replied.

"I insist."

"Ladies first."

Cesia smiled a little. "I was going to say…that…" She turned around and gazed into the water. "That I didn't want to become a burden to you…and if you want me to leave you alone I will…" She blinked when she suddenly felt him hug her from behind and saw his face in the water's reflection.

"No…that's not what I want," he said softly in her ear. "I didn't know what I had wanted before…but I know now." He gently turned her around and tilted her face up so that he was looking deeply into her eyes. "I have a feeling that we had met somewhere else before…somewhere in the past. And from even back then, I had sworn that I would protect you. Do you know the reason?"  
            His words were similar to what he had said in the park back on Earth before Bierrez had shown up. It was so similar it made her blush slightly with a slight shiver. "No…"

But unlike before, there would be no stopping him now, no interruptions, and Rath knew it. "It's because…" he said softly, his face now only a couple of mere inches away from hers, "I love you." 

And with that, he closed the gap and kissed her gently on the lips, making Cesia's eyes open wide. But she soon relaxed and closed her eyes as she immersed herself in the kiss. It was long, yet sweet and gentle, and it held such a feeling she had never felt before. Everything seemed to disappear around them as she realized that she, too, loved him just as much as he loved her. All questions about what would happen were thrown out of Rath's mind. All he wanted, and all she wanted, was to be with each other forever.

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*bites a tissue, big teary eyes on her face* T_T Man how I wished that was me!!! *runs around screaming* .; J/K J/K I'm not _that_ obsessed…But I mean similar circumstances only real life. And no, this is not becoming some romantic fic centered on Rath and Cesia…*rethinks* Okay, well maybe _slightly . But there's more to it as I create horrible twists to it! D! Okay well, see ya in Chapter 12! And Review!_


	12. Night Occurances

Chapter 12: Night Occurrences 

La dee da…good I didn't scare you guys away from the last chapter . 

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            Kitchel peered around the corner, making sure no one was watching. She smiled to herself as she softly tip-toed to an expensive looking artifact. _Teehee…I'm sure they won't mind if I took something as a souvenir…_ she thought to herself, a big smile on her face as she picked it up and examined it. 

            "Wow, is the pure gold?!"

            She jumped and turned around to see Thatz looking at the object that she was holding. Apparently he had showered and changed after dinner and was wearing a jade green shirt with an open white jacket over it. A bunch of short straps were hanging from the sleeves. His white jeans also had several pockets and a variety of straps hanging off them. "Th-Thatz?!"

            The Dragon Knight blinked then narrowed his eyes. "Hey…you weren't going to try and steal that were you…?"

            "Uh, er, of course not! I'm just very interested in these kind of things and I just wanted to have a closer look!!" she laughed nervously. _He's not going to believe that…_

            Thatz blinked. "Oh. Can I see it then? I'm also fascinated by tre—er certain artifacts!"

            Kitchel held the strange looking object close to her and narrowed her eyes. "How do _I_ know that you're not going to steal it either?"

            "Me?" he said innocently. "I would NEVER do such a thing!"

            "…" She placed it back on its podium, wondering why she wanted it in the first place. It looked like an abstract piece of art that Picasso would probably have done. "I think it would be best if we left it alone…"

            Thatz sighed. _Oh well…there are other treasures around here I'm sure!_ He was about to ask her why she was out so late when he heard footsteps coming toward them. "Kitchel!" he hissed as he pulled her into a dark corner.

            "Hey what's the big id—mmff!" she tried to yell as Thatz covered her mouth.

            "Someone's coming!" he hissed into her ear.

            She would have bit his hand or kicked him if she hadn't heard the footsteps either. The two held their breath, standing as still as possible. They could soon hear voices coming closer and Kitchel blinked. _Is that Rath and Cesia…?_

            When the two passed them, Thatz and Kitchel stepped out and stared after them. Rath had had his arms behind his head and was, to Kitchel's utter astonishment, laughing and looking like he was having a good time. Cesia had hers clasped behind her and also looked rather happy. 

            "What…in the world…?" Kitchel asked.

            "Beats me," Thatz said, also amazed at his friend's transformation. "Doesn't look too bad in the new outfit, though."

            Kitchel fell over. "That did not sound right, you know!!" she yelled as she stood back up.

            Thatz jumped and quickly covered her mouth again. "They're not out of earshot yet you know!!!" he hissed. She just glared at him, making him sweatdrop and release his hold. "And I didn't mean it _that_ way," he grumbled.

            "Speaking of clothing, why are you _not_ dressed for bed?" she said raising an eyebrow. "It seems to me that those would be better suited for an outing of sorts," she added as she pulled a strap and released it, sending it snapping back at Thatz.

            "Er, uh, I can explain that!" Thatz said, a sweat bead forming. _Erk…she's got me now!_ _Changing subject changing subject…_ "But uh, what are _you_ doing out so late?"

            "I was heading back to my room."

            "Is that so?"

            "Do you doubt me?" she said, an eyebrow twitching. 

            He blinked and held his hands up, the sweat bead growing bigger. "No, no! It's just that, uh…" he glanced at his watch. "It's noon?" He blinked. 

            "Wha? Are you sure that's not midnight?"" Kitchel said as she grabbed his wrist and looked at his digital watch. 

            "No, it says A.M. right there," he said pointing.

            She whacked him. "You idiot that means 12 in the morning!!! Noon is in the afternoon!!!!"

            "Oh yeah…I always seem to get those mixed up," Thatz said rubbing his head. _That plan worked, hehe._

            Kitchel sighed and turned away, crossing her arms as she started walking. "Anyway, I'm going back to bed."

            "Back? You never went out," Thatz pointed out walking next to her. 

            She twitched. "Okay then, I'm going TO bed," she snapped. "And why are you following me?!"

            "Our rooms are right across from each other."

            Kitchel placed a hand to her forehead and groaned. _Will…this nightmare…ever end…?_ She finally reached her room. "Okay, well, now you have to leave and go do whatever," she said as she opened the door.

            "Night!" Thatz yelled from across the hall.

            She blinked. "When did you…oh forget it!" she said exasperatingly and walked into her room and closed the door behind her.

            Thatz rubbed his hands together, a big grin on his face. "Now I can do some treasure hunting…"

            "Treasure…hunting…?" a voice behind him said.

            He blinked. _That sounded a lot like…_ He turned around and jumped back to see a very angry Rune twitching, his sword hitting the palm of his hands repeatedly. "Hoya, Rune!" Thatz said, laughing nervously.

            "And where…have you…been?!?!" Rune nearly yelled, several veins popping.

            "I was, uh, just out walking? Hehe?" _I'm going to be killed._

            "Out walking? Do you know what TIME it is??!?!??!??!?!?"

            "You know having high blood pressure isn't very good for the body!" Thatz said as he inched his way to his room and fumbled for the door handle frantically as Rune slowly came toward him, his sword raised. "Now, now, Rune! Put the sword down!!!"

            "WILL YOU SHUT UP!!" Kitchel yelled from her room as she threw a nightstand from her room at Thatz, hitting him right on the head. She huffed and slammed the door.

            Rune blinked and looked over at Thatz, who had spirals in his eyes. "Uh…Thatz…?" He waved a hand in front of his face. "Moshimoshi?"

            Thatz just sat there, a gigantic bump growing out of the top of his head.

            Rune sighed and dragged his friend into his room. _Good grief…Well, I'll just leave him on the floor…it's where he usually is, anyway,_ he thought as he placed a blanket over the now sleeping Thatz and closed the door behind him. He went to his room next door and leaned his sword against the wall. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Rune stared at himself in the mirror. He was still in his school uniform even though he had already showered. He tugged at the long strands of hair. It was now down to his knees and it disgusted him.

            Rune stood up and changed into the clothes that had been provided and laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. _Maybe I could get it cut in the morning…_ he thought as he closed his eyes. He lay there, deep in thought. His thoughts strayed to the previous event when he had healed Cesia while Rath and Bierrez had fought. _That…girl…_ He opened his eyes and frowned. "Who was she?" he mused aloud.

            _Rune…_

            He blinked and sat up. Did someone just call him? Or was it his imagination? _It's not Water…then…could it be…?_ Several images flashed before his mind's eye, all of them bringing him closer to remembering. Trees? Lights? _Water lights…_he corrected himself absent-mindedly then blinked. Water lights? What are water lights?! There was something more…a deep longing that pained his heart. _What is it?_ he asked himself, his hair blowing slightly around him as a breeze blew through his open window. 

            _We're waiting…_

            Rune stood up and looked out the window. _The prince of the…faerie elves? The Spirit Tribe and the Water Realm? When did _that_ happen?! Did my parents…_ he blinked. Parents? Did he ever _have_ parents? The thought shocked him so much he had to grab the windowsill to catch himself. He thought desperately, trying to remember. _I have parents, right? _No. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't come up with a single trace. _Then how was I…_ Born? How did he come to Earth? Why had he never known…? And Rath and Thatz. What about them? Did they know about this? Had _they_ known? Did _they_ have parents? 

"This is just too much," he said sighing, turning his back to the open the window. "None of this makes sense…"

You don't remember… 

_No I don't…_ Rune closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He could faintly hear a distant grandfather clock strike one. A slight breeze blew into the room. _The breeze…is calming…_ He opened his eyes. Wind? Cesia controlled the wind…Cesia… He had noticed the glances the Dragon Officers had exchanged when she was suddenly in pain. Why was that? Was there something about her that they knew about? _Most likely…even we, her friends, don't know a lot about her…_ He remembered the wind that had surrounded him when he had called on Water. _Can she somehow make our powers…stronger?_

Rune… 

His thoughts strayed back to his original thought. He thought back to what he had said when he had called for Water's powers…_Faeries come to my aid as I draw forth from your watery realm the power to vanquish my foe! Freeze all who oppose me so that they move no more!!_

             His eyes snapped open. He had called for faerie help? From their watery realm…the Water Realm?! He straightened. _I had called upon the faeries to lend me strength, and I had _felt_ that power throughout my whole body…_ Rune slowly turned and closed the window. _Faeries…and…_

            _Tintlet…_

            Tintlet? _Tintlet…_ Rune stared out the window. _Tintlet…she's the…the one who…_ He turned and walked back to his bed and lay back down, closing his eyes. _Tintlet…I'll find you…_

            In the Faerie Water Realm, a beautiful, young faerie elf sat in a field of flowers, holding a piece of crystal. She held it close to her, a stray tear trailing down her cheek and down to the crystal, making it cast a brilliant light as it illuminated the elf's slender face. "_My dear Rune…how I miss you…_"

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*bites down on the tissue again* T_T MAN HOW I HATE MAKING SAPPY STUFF LIKE THAT T_T And yet! *dramatic pose* I love it so much…*sob* Anyway .; Just discard all that and stay tune for Chapter 13! *waddles over to her other fic, where an idea had sprung up*


	13. Jolly Time at Breakfast

Chapter 13: Jolly Time at Breakfast

Plodding right along…wow this vacation is doing wonders for my fics ^^ Sorry for all these late updates, but most likely I'll be submitting this chapter days after I finish typing it…as most is the case =P I just love waiting a few days making people anticipate the next chapter ^.^ How far are we into the fic you may ask…? *grins evilly* My friends, we have just begun. Anyway, here's just a little chapter to relieve the seriousness that has been building up. *raises hand* READ ON!

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            Kitchel stretched as she stood up from her bed. It had already been a week since they had arrived into Draqueen. She walked over to the window and looked out. Tetheus was out drilling one of the patrols. _He's so stiff_, she thought annoyed. _Wish he'd loosen up some._ Turning away from the window she looked around the overly decorated room. There seem to be two of everything: two nightstands, two dressers, two desks, each of these furnishing have one lamp on each, making that a total of six lamps. She was surprised she didn't have two beds. Draped across one of the ornately decorated armchairs was a new set of clothes. 

            "Well, at least they have fashion sense!" Kitchel said as she pulled the pale blue shirt over her head and buttoned the loose, white, sleeveless jacket up to the middle. "But they also have a thing for straps," she added amusedly as she pulled on the faded blue jeans that had a bunch of straps hanging from them. She blinked and examined them in the mirror. _Wait a minute…those look they would be needed to…hold tools?!_ She shook her head as she pulled on the leather boots. "Oh well! Still looks better than anything I have at home."

            "K-chan?" Cesia's voice called from outside. "Are you ready for breakfast?"

            "Yep! Coming right out!" she called back as she buckled the plain white belt. She examined herself. _Eh, not bad,_ she thought as she walked out and smiled at Cesia. "Ohayo, Cesia-chan."

            Her friend smiled. "Ohayo, K-chan."

            Kitchel blinked. "You look rather nice," she said smiling.

            Cesia blushed. "Er…Lady Raseleane and Cernozura had caught me again," she said laughing nervously. She twirled around, making the long white, frilly skirt flare out. "You really think it suits me?" she asked doubtfully as she stood in front of Kitchel, the heels of her open-toed high heeled sandals making a soft clacking nose as they hit the marble flooring.

            Kitchel placed a hand under her chin and examined her friend. Cesia was wearing a white, buttoned blouse under a mottled, yet nice looking, multi-dark colored jacket that was rolled up at the cuffs. Her golden hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, clasped in the back by a pearl decorated clasp and braided down with long, pink ribbons tying the end. She also had two, rather large golden bracelets on her right wrist, which made a soft jingling noise when they hit. _Yep…definitely the work of the Dragon Queen and her attendant,_ Kitchel thought smiling. "I honestly think it does."

            Cesia turned and glanced back, her face beaming as she looked at her slightly amused friend. "Arigato…K-chan. Shall we go to breakfast now?"

            "We shall!" she said laughing as she hooked her arm around Cesia's and they half walked, half ran down the grand central stair case to the dining hall. 

            The three Dragon Knights were already seated, Thatz stuffing his face with several plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and various other foods spread out on the forty foot long, five foot wide table. There were twenty chairs on each side, two on the ends. Two, ten-foot wide crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, ten feet away from each end of the table. The shards of crystal that hung from the chandelier reflected rainbows whenever the sunlight from the tall windows on the east side of the room hit them. It never ceased to amaze both of the girls how dazzling and extravagant the dining hall was. The ballroom, which was four times the size as the seventy by thirty foot dining hall, was adjoined to it, three double doors allowing entrance to and from either room. However, these doors have always been closed since their arrival, having no use for the time being. 

            Rune glanced up from his plate as the two girls entered and took their seats across from them. "Ohayo."

            "Ohayo!" they both greeted as Cernozura mysteriously appeared and laid out two plates in front of them.

            The attendant stood next to Cesia, her eyes wide with delight. "Cesia-chan!! KAWAII!!!"

            "HONTO NI, KAWAII!!!" Raseleane exclaimed after her as she entered the room along with Lykouleon and his Dragon Officers. She quickly walked over to where the flustered Cesia sat and clasped her hands in front of her. "Oooooh!! I knew that outfit would look lovely on you!!!!!"

            Lykouleon smiled. "Yes, it does look rather splendid."

            Cesia looked down, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Arigato gozaimas…" she said softly.   

            Kitchel grinned and thumped her friend on her back. "I told you! And you doubted my judgment!"

            Rune picked up his glass and looked across the table where all the girls were fussing over Cesia amused. "That's something you don't see everyday."

            "I'd get used to it," Alfeegi sighed as he sat down next to Rune. "The Dragon Queen and Cernozura take Cesia like a little girl to a new doll." He smiled a little. "At least they're having fun."

            Thatz scarfed down a leg of ham then downed his drink. "Aaahh! This food is great!" he exclaimed. He then followed this with a rather loud belch. "Erk…s'cuse me!" he said hastily, and then continued his voracious eating.

            Rune twitched, a vein popping on his head, as he drank his own drink. After a few moments of hearing Thatz's rather loud eating sounds, he slammed his glass down, making everyone stop what they were doing and stare at him. "Can't you eat more quietly?!??!" he nearly yelled.

            "Um…consider it a compliment…? Eh-heh?" Thatz laughed nervously. _Shoot, I'm going to be killed again!_

            Rath leaned against his hand, his elbow propped up on the table, and watched Rune grab Thatz throat and shake the poor the Dragon Knight amusedly. _Apparently Rune forgot he was in the presence of the Dragon Lord…_ He glanced over to where Lykouleon was sitting at the head of the table, watching Raseleane fuss over Cesia with a smile and a slight sweat bead on his face. The Dragon Queen had gotten Cesia to stand up and was taking measurements with a tape measurer Cernozura had gotten out. His face softened as he watched the flustered Cesia turn around several times and position herself as Raseleane instructed. 

            _She does look rather lovely, doesn't she, Rath?_ A voice suddenly said in his head, making him start and straighten. He glanced around, so as not to attract attention to himself. Slowly he picked up his glass and took a small drink, his eyes moving constantly. 

_Who's there?_ Rath thought, unsure if he would be answered. He felt rather silly trying it, but it didn't really matter.

_I am me_, the voice answered, a light chuckle following it. _Rath, it's been a while since we last met. _Rath could now see an image forming in his mind, though all he could distinguish was a sly smile and some feathers falling. _But I'm afraid I'm not allowed…but a friend of mine is…_

The image became sharper and Rath snapped his eyes open, jumping out of his seat. "KHARL!"

Everyone blinked and looked at him. "Rath?" Lykouleon asked, puzzled by the Dragon Knight's sudden outburst.

Rath stammered a bit. _Shoot! I lost control of myself! Think, think, think…_ "Kharl…er…I meant caramel!!! Hahah!" he laughed nervously. "I think I'm up to some caramel chocolate right now!! Whaddya say Thatz?" he asked as turned quickly to his friend.

"Mmmmm…caramel…" Thatz agreed, big stars in his eyes. "DESSERT PLEASE!!"

            Cernozura blinked. "For breakfast? Whatever you say…" she said awed as she went through the revolving doors that went into the kitchen. 

            Kitchel stared at Rath. "Caramel…I thought it was pronounced like care-a-mel."

            "No, It's car-mal," Thatz argued.

            "Care-a-mel," Kitchel repeated, leaning over the table.

            "Car-mal!" Thatz insisted, also leaning over the table. Lightning bolts shot between both of their eyes as they continued the argument over the pronunciation of 'caramel'.

            "CARE-A-MEL! CARE-A-MEL! CARE-A-MEL!!"

            "CAR-MAL! CAR-MAL! CAR-MAL!!!"

            Ruwalk blinked. "I thought it was car-a-mel…"

            "YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!!" they yelled at the Dragon Officer.

            A sweat bead appeared on the Yellow Dragon Officer's head as he held his hands up in surrender. "Never mind then!" He glanced over at Lykouleon, who was trying really hard not to laugh. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

            "YES!!!" He couldn't take it anymore and fell out of his chair laughing.

            Raseleane blinked and looked at her husband. "Lykouleon? Are you all right dear?"

            The Dragon Lord just rolled on the ground, laughing his head off as tears streamed down his face. "YES!!!!!"

            A sweat bead appeared on Rath's head. "This is how Lykouleon_ always_ act?" _And to think this all started because I shouted Kharl…_

            "Only when things like these occur," Tetheus said, making Rath jump in surprise. The Dragon Officer looked at Rath. "What?"  
            "Hehe…I never noticed you," Rath said laughing a little nervously. _He's good…_

            Tetheus flashed him a small smile then returned to his normal, expressionless face as he turned back to Dragon Lord. "It's nice to relax once in a while," the Dragon Officer mused. "It's better for the kingdom."

            "No problems there," Rath agreed as he watched the still arguing thieves.

            "CARE-A-MEL! CARE-A-MEL! CARE-A-MEL!!" Kitchel shouted.

            "CAR-MAL! CAR-MAL! CAR-MAL!!!" Thatz yelled back.

            "I seriously think it's car-a-mel!!" Ruwalk persisted.

            "WE TOLD YOU TO STAY OUT OF THIS!" they yelled, lightning crackling around them.

            "Sorry, sorry," Ruwalk said sweatdropping. _Yeesh…_

            Alfeegi placed a hand over his forehead. "Ruwalk…do us a favor…and don't add fuel to the fire?" he groaned. He could a headache coming on, and it just grew as Rune started yelling at the two.

            "Stop arguing!!" Rune was yelling. "You are in the presence of the Dragon Lord!!" The two continued, not listening to him.

            "CARE-A-MEL! CARE-A-MEL! CARE-A-MEL!!"

            "CAR-MAL! CAR-MAL! CAR-MAL!!!"

            "ARE YOU TWO EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!??!?!"

            The White Dragon Officer rubbed his temples. _My job…my reputation…my life…MY SANITY!!!_

            Cernozura walked in and blinked as she examined the scene in front of her. "My…er, I brought the caramel…"

            "IT'S CARE-A-MEL!" Kitchel shouted as Thatz shouted, "CAR-MAL!" at the same time. They glared at each other and the argument ensued.

            "CARE-A-MEL! CARE-A-MEL! CARE-A-MEL!!" 

            "CAR-MAL! CAR-MAL! CAR-MAL!!!"

            "Um…Lady Raseleane…" Cesia started to say, a large sweat bead on her head. "Um…I don't think that's quite right…"

            Raseleane blinked and turned back to what she was doing. "ACK!" she yelled as she discovered she had been trying to tailor in a shirt piece where the skirt was and vice versa. "I'm so sorry!" the Dragon Queen laughed as she quickly fixed her mistake with a few strokes. "There!"

            Cesia blinked. "Um…it's exactly as it was before, my Lady…" she said sweatdropping.

            Raseleane blinked again. "ACK!!! I UNDID EVERYTHING!!" she yelled and then sat down on the ground sighing.

            Cesia twirled around, making the still frilly skirt flare out. "I still like it though," she said smiling.

            The Dragon Queen looked up at her with starry eyes. "Oooooh how I wish you were my daughter!!" she squealed as she hugged the unsuspecting Cesia.

            "Are you guys having a party without me?" an astounded voice said at the entrance of the dining hall. A white haired, white-eyed person was leaning against the door wearing a light blue unbuttoned flannel shirt and black jeans.

            Alfeegi looked up and narrowed his eyes. "KAI-STERN!!"

            "ACK!!" the surprised Blue Dragon Officer yelled as Alfeegi suddenly jumped up and stormed over to him. "H-Hello, Alfeegi!" _What I do now?!_

            The White Dragon Officer pulled a folder and held it in front of Kai-stern, smoke surrounding him. "Explain these bills!!!!!!"

            _Uh-oh…_ Kai-stern laughed nervously. "Haha…I can explain that…"

            "YOU BETTER EXPLAIN QUICKLY!!!" Alfeegi was now towering over the unfortunate Dragon Officer.

            Rath watched, eyebrows raised. "I take it that is the well-traveled Blue Dragon Officer Kai-stern?" he asked, looking at Tetheus.

            "That he is," the Black Dragon Officer said. "He had always had unfortunate timing."

            Rath was about to ask something else when a large, white blur shot past and tackled him, knocking him onto the ground. "Hey!! Get off me!!" he yelled angrily, only to be attacked by a wet, slobbering tongue. He reached up and tried to push the beast off him. "I said get off me!!" he yelled, though now he was laughing. The presence felt familiar and soothing, and the licking was starting to tickle me. "You're slobbering all over me!!" Rath laughed. _I know you…_

            The big, white, wolf-like beast finally relented and got off. Rath sat up and rubbed the wolf's head. "You're yokai aren't you?"  
            It just looked at him with deep purple eyes. There was also a large, purple, what to looked to be, gem on the wolf's forehead. With a small whine, the beast butted its head against Rath's chest.

            The Dragon Knight just grinned and continued rubbing the wolf's head. "Eh, you're different. I guess I won't kill you."

            "KAWAII!!!!" Cesia yelled as she suddenly appeared and hugged the surprised demon dog's neck. "OOH!! YOU'RE SO SOFT AND CUTE!!!!!"

            Kai-stern, who had escaped Alfeegi's wrath for the moment thanks to Ruwalk's intervention, walked over and grinned. "He may look cute and cuddly, but he can be quite vicious when fighting."

            "What's his name?" Cesia asked while still hugging the demon wolf.

            "Crewger."

            "Kawaii!!" She buried her head in his neck. "Ooooh…so soft…he looks to nice to be vicious." 

            Rath sat there on the other side of Crewger. _Crewger…where have I heard that name before…_ However the child-like antics of Cesia distracted him from his thoughts and smiled. _That's the happiest I've ever seen her…_ He blinked when Cesia turned and smiled at him. 

            "Don't you think he's just adorable, Rath?" she asked, her eyes shining with delight.

            He grinned. "Yeah, I guess you think him adorable," Rath agreed as he ran his hand through Crewger's thick fur. "Though I think it might offend him a bit," he added.

            Cesia ignored that last comment and hugged the demon wolf, who seemed to be enjoying the attention. "I don't think he doesn't mind at all," she said defiantly. 

            Kai-stern chuckled then noticed Lykouleon standing next to him, still shaking a bit from his laughing fit. The Dragon Officer grinned. "Long time no see, eh?"

            "I know," the Dragon Lord said grinning. "But I think we should talk about what you've gathered in a more…quiet place?" he suggested chuckling as Thatz's and Kitchel's yelling could still be heard. 

            "IT'S CARE-A-MEL YOU DUMB IDIOT!!" Kitchel was shouting.

            "NO IT'S CAR-MAL YOU STUPID BIT—" Kitchel slammed a chair down his head, cutting off his words.

            There was a loud cracking noise and Kitchel lifted the chair off Thatz's head. "Uh…oh…" she said as she looked at the broken pieces in her hands

            "KITCHEL!!" Rune screamed. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT CHAIR COSTS?!?!?!"

            "AAAHHH!!" Alfeegi yelled as he saw the damage. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE???!"

            "Does anyone still want the caramel?" Cernozura asked, knowing no one was paying attention. "Guess not," she sighed.

            "I'll take one," Kai-stern said as he took a piece of the chocolate. "Yummy, though I like caramel apples better."

            "How did this caramel thing get started in the first place, again?" Cesia asked, her arms still around Crewger's neck.

            "Don't know!" Rath said quickly. _I'll keep this to myself for now…_

            "Does…anyone notice the blood that's flowing from Thatz's head…?" Ruwalk asked sweatdropping as the attention shifted back to the broken chair.

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.;;;; That was just for fun, lol. It still fits into the storyline though so don't worry! *laughs* Poor Thatz…oh well, he'll recover! He has to .;;; I thought of that caramel commercial thing with Shaq while I was doing that XD! I'm sure you guys have seen that commercial .; Maybe not .;; Personally I say it like care-a-mel…*coughs* Well see you in the more serious chapter, Chapter 14! R&R! And the comments on the hair (specifically Cesia and Rath)…This is a totally different story…and uh…well you'll see in later chapters (somewhere far down the road…) that it does change to the original coloring from the manga. So…stop tormenting me about that T_T *runs away crying*


	14. Burning Fire

Chapter 14: Burning Fire

Okay, this is an action packed chapter! Hold on to your seats and…as you know what I always say…READ ON! *blows horn*

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            Another week had passed, though it had been rather uneventful for Kitchel's taste. Thatz's head wound from the chair she had bashed on his head before had healed quickly thanks to Rune's elfish healing powers and the Dragon Knight was now scouring the huge library for any treasure map he could find. Kitchel tried to keep her eye on Cesia, but it was hard when Thatz kept dragging her to the library to help him find a treasure map or to see some rare artifact he had read about. And that's where Kitchel found herself again at the moment, leaning against a shelf stocked high with thick, old, encyclopedias about Dusis and the Yokai Realm. Thatz was sitting at a table, a gigantic pile of thick, dusty, old books surrounding him like a blockade. 

She was about to leave to find Cesia when Thatz gave a loud yell of delight. "KITCHEL!! KITCHEL!!!!!!!" he yelled excitedly as he shoved the page in front of her face. "LOOK!! LOOK!!!!!!"

            Kitchel pushed the book away and gave him an annoyed look. "What?"

            "REEEAAAADD!!!" 

            She sighed and scanned the page. "'According to the legend passed down through the Dragon bloodline, blah blah blah…'" When she reached the bottom of the page she blinked. "Thatz…"

            "You think it's a great find don't you?!" he asked happily, unable to contain his excitement. "And it'll be so easy for me to get it—"

            Kitchel shoved the book into his face. "Moron, you already have Earth!"

            "Exactly!" Thatz said happily. "It'll be easy to get the rock of the Earth dragon if…er…" He stopped and blinked.

            She sighed and placed a hand to her forehead. "DUH. Earth isn't sealed, therefore, there is no rock!"

            Thatz sighed and sat back down, his back to her. "Yeah…man I just want to get out of here and DO something…" He propped his head up with his hand, elbow on the table. "Anything! Just something to get out of here…I'll even go yokai hunting with Rath!!"

            Kitchel blinked and stared at the back of his head. "Man, you're desperate," she said, cocking an eyebrow.

            "All we've been doing is basically lying around here! I NEED TO MAKE SOME SORT OF INCOME!!" he yelled, shaking both his fists.

            "You…are such…a moron…" Kitchel muttered as she turned and walked out of the library. "It's all he thinks about! Money this, treasure that. Food is just his life," she grumbled. _Well, maybe I can check up on Cesia-chan now…_ she thought as she walked down the through long hallways, the heels of her light brown boots clicking on the marble flooring. She soon came to the entrance of the garden and swiftly hid behind the wall next to the gateway. _Sugoi! I finally caught them!_ she thought happily as she suppressed a squeal of delight.

            Rath was practicing some sword techniques while Cesia sat on a wooden bench, fondling with Crewger. The wolf demon seemed to enjoy the attention she gave him and showed it by resting his head on her lap and sometimes licking her face. She laughed whenever he did this and just hugged his neck. The three had been coming to the garden together nearly every day now, Kai-stern sometimes stopping by to give Rath some pointers. Cesia now turned her attention back to Rath, who had now sheathed his sword and was looking at her. 

            He sat down next to her and wiped the sweat off his brow. "Phew, that was a rather hard workout."

            She smiled and offered a towel. "Don't overdo it."

            "I know, I know," he said as he took the towel and wiped his face with it. He placed it next to him and leaned back against the back of the bench, letting out a sigh. "Man is this boring."

            Cesia looked up at the clear blue sky above them. A few puffy clouds floated across, creating small shadows on the ground. "I guess so…but it's rather peaceful here…" she said softly, running her hand through Crewger's thick, rather silky fur.

            "Yeah…" Rath said. He stared up above them. "Being a Dragon Knight isn't really bad if you actually have something to do," he continued. "Everyone else is edgy, too. It's too peaceful."

            Crewger suddenly perked his head up and low growl came from his throat. He looked at them then turned back to where he had been staring. Cesia blinked and looked at him. "Crewger? What's wrong?"

            The wolf demon just looked at her and after a moment Cesia blinked. "Danger?"

            Rath looked at her. "What?"

            "Crewger says that there is danger…can't you hear him?"

            The Dragon Knight blinked and furrowed his brows. _Hear him? Can she understand him?_ "No…but I'll take your word for it," he said as he stood up, his hand on the hilt of his sword. _I can sense a…yokai?! But how?_ He looked around then froze in place when he saw the figure standing on the far wall. "No…"

            Cesia blinked and looked at Rath's paled face. "Rath? Rath what is it?"

            "Cesia get inside," he said in a strange voice. It was filled with fear, shock, and coldness mixed together. 

            "But—"

            "I said get inside!" he yelled and drew his sword. _It's him…_ "Crewger take her inside!"

            The wolf demon glanced up at the Dragon Knight then nudged Cesia inside. With a hand on his head she turned and watched from the doorway as the figure slowly walked toward Rath, the Dragon Knight holding his sword to the side. She did not notice Kitchel walk up and stand next to her. Her eyes were riveted to the advancing figure, his purple hair blowing in the wind. _It's…it's…no it can't be…_

            "Nadil…" Rath said, finishing her thought in a low voice as the yokai stopped twenty feet away from him. "How did you get past the barrier?"

            The Yokai Lord looked at him with a sly smile on his lips. "I had…help. And I would advise you to lower your sword, Dragon Knight of Flame, for it is not I who you would wish to fight." He glanced past Rath at Cesia. "How nice it is to have what we have been searching right here in our grasp…"

            Rath moved in front of him, blocking his view. "You'd have to get past me first," he said in a cold voice. "And the rest of the Dragon Tribe."

            "I'm afraid they are all taking…a lovely nap at the moment," Nadil said smirking, making Rath's eyes narrow at him.

            Kitchel blinked. "Napping…?" She looked down and found Crewger on the ground, his eyes closed asleep. "Crewger?!"

            "A spell…" Cesia said in a dazed voice, the screaming returning to her mind. Multitudes of voices mixed in with one another, filling her ears. _Spare us! NO!! NOT MY BABY!!! Mother!!! Leave her alo—AAAAAUUUUUGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!_ She clutched her head, her eyes shut tight as she tried to force the voices out of her mind.

            "Cesia-chan!" Kitchel yelled as she grabbed her arms. "Cesia snap out of it!!"

            "It's no use," a voice said behind them and Kitchel whirled around to find Kharl standing there, his two birds perched on his shoulders. He grinned at her. "How very interesting. You're not asleep. But then, you _are_ just human…"

            "What are you doing to her?!" Kitchel screamed angrily.

            "I?" He gave a short laugh then looked at her smiling. "I am not doing anything. It is her own memories that had been locked deep within her that are now emerging. Now, if you want your friend to be relieved of her pain, I advise you to step aside and let us handle this."

            Kitchel stood in front of Cesia. She glanced back and notice that she was shivering violently, but had now regained some control over herself. _Oh Cesia…_ She turned back to Kharl. "Over my dead body," she said slowly, every word dripping with fierce determination and hatred. She glared at the yokai that stood in front of her with intense disgust.

            Kharl raised an eyebrow. "Is that your final answer?" When she didn't move he raised an arm. "Then you have asked for your death." His arm seemed to stretch out from him and his fingers turned to claws as he grabbed Kitchel's neck. "You still have one more chance. Step away from the girl."

            Kitchel could feel his grip tightening and coughed. _Can't…breathe…_ She stood there, with her arms outstretched, and glared at him. "Never," she managed to say in a raspy voice.

            "Then prepare to die," he said coolly as he tightened his grip.

            Kitchel would have screamed in pain if she were able to. Instead she closed her eyes tightly and tried to endure the pain as his claws dug into her neck. She could feel the warm trickle of blood flow down her neck and panicked, her eyes now wide open and filled with fear. _No!_ she thought to herself sharply. _I… won't …give in…_ But now everything around her was starting to fade out and blackness was starting to fill her vision. The blood had started to flow out faster and she could scarcely breath now. She closed her eyes as her body started to relax. _Gomen ne…Cesia-chan…_ Kitchel was about to just let herself die in the hands of the yokai when she heard, if faintly, a yell come from the left.

            "EARTH THRUST!"

            Kharl jumped back as the ground erupted from beneath him. Stalagmites rose up from the ground, cutting through his arm and releasing Kitchel from the yokai's deathly hold. The yokai cringed and looked at the Dragon Knight who was leaning heavily on his sword. Kitchel fell to her knees gasping, her hand at her throat as the blood dripped to the ground. When she looked up she saw Thatz glaring at Kharl, though the Dragon Knight was breathing heavily, as if something was weighing him down. _Thatz…?_

            Thatz straightened and staggered a bit before raising his sword. "Kharl!" he yelled fiercely. "I have a score to settle with you!"

            The yokai looked at him coolly as his arm regenerated on its own. "Do you mean my lovely tree pets?" _He's still awake…_ He didn't turn his gaze as he sensed something come behind him. "Garfakcy, status?"

            "That elf boy is unaccounted for," a voice hidden in several robes said. "It seems that the spell is not as effective on these new Knights."

            "They're not complete Dragon yet…" Kharl mused. "Intriguing…" He smiled at Thatz. "But, this is not our time to fight, Dragon Knight of Earth," he said as black winds and smoke swirled around him. "We will meet again." After a moment he was completely enveloped by the wind and smoke and had vanished, as well as the one he had called Garfakcy. 

            Kitchel stared at the spot where they had just been. She removed her hand from the neck and saw them covered in blood. The sight of it made her sick, but she closed her eyes and sighed. _Elf boy…Rune?!_

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            Rune wandered through the halls. "Where the heck is everyone…?" he said aloud, his voice falling dead in the hallway. Thunder rolled in the distance and a bolt of lightning illuminated the hallway through the windows, casting eerie shadows on the wall. He shuddered. _What is going on? _He looked out a nearby window. Lightning was flashing in the sky, dark clouds covering the sky, but there was no sign of rain. Something inside told him it was unnatural, something dangerous. He quickened his pace, his footsteps echoing loudly on the floor as he went toward the garden. He didn't know what, but something was telling him that something was happening to his friends. 

            As he ran around a corner, the elfin Dragon Knight saw several Dragon servants lying on the ground. He kneeled down and placed two fingers to their necks. _Good_, he sighed in relief. _Just sleeping. _Sleeping? He blinked and stood back up. Why was everyone asleep? He placed a hand to his head and leaned against the wall. _My head… it feels so heavy…_ He quickly shook his head, clearing his mind, and continued on. A loud roar of thunder filled his ears as Rune approached his destination. _Wait…that's not thunder…_ He grabbed the side of the wall as the ground shook violently beneath him. After a few moments, everything settled and he hesitantly straightened. "An earthquake?" He ran forward and stopped short as he saw Thatz in front of him, leaning heavily on his sword. "Thatz!"

            Thatz blinked and turned around. "Rune, where have you been?"

            Rune closed his eyes as a wave of drowsiness swept through him. When it disappeared he looked back at Thatz. "I've been looking all over the place! Everyone is—"

            "Asleep…" Cesia said in a tired voice, cutting him off. She had now fully recovered from her attack and was now leaning against the doorway, her hand over her eyes. "It's a…a sleep spell…"

            "Why aren't we affected?" Kitchel asked then covered her mouth as she went into a coughing fit. When she removed her hand she was horrified to see it covered in fresh, new blood. 

            "Kitchel!" Thatz yelled as he and Rune ran over. He kneeled down beside her. "Don't talk, you'll just aggravate your wounds on your neck."

            Rune held his hand over her neck. "I'll see what I can do…" As the wounds on Kitchel's neck started to close and she started to breathe easier, he glanced outside. "Who in the world is that?!" he asked as lightning illuminated the area, showing the Yokai Lord standing in front of Rath, an evil gleam in his deep purple eyes.

            "Nadil…" Cesia said, her voice now vacant of any emotion. "It's…him…" The voices returned. _She doesn't have anything! Leave her alone!! _A new, small voice could be heard now. _Cesia, get out of here!_ Multitude of voices mingled with one another now. _Fire! There's fire everywhere!_ _Help! Let us out!_ She suddenly felt heat and turned to where Rath had been. "Fire…"

            Kitchel rubbed her neck and blinked as she, too, felt the heat. She turned and saw that there was now a ring of fire surrounding Rath and Nadil. "Oh my God…"

            "It's a death trap, Rath!" Rune yelled. He was about to use Water's powers to extinguish the flames when Rath held up a hand.

            "Don't worry, the flames won't hurt me," Rath said in a cold voice. Rune couldn't see his face, but Rath had the same look as he had when he fought Bierrez. He stared at Nadil. "You are _not_ getting past me."

            The Yokai Lord looked around at the wall of fire amusedly. "Interesting. And it seems Kharl had retreated for the moment," he added as he smiled. "But it wouldn't be fun if I fought you now. It would be over too quickly."

            "I'm not an easy opponent!" Rath yelled, the fire rising a little then lowering back down. The tongues of flames flickered around Nadil, as if wanting to also burn him into oblivion. 

            "Oh, I know you are strong, but you are not strong enough," Nadil said as he stepped to the side, black smoke forming next to him. "However, I will supply you a worthy opponent. One you had failed to kill before."

            Fire and hatred flickered in Rath's now dark crimson red eyes as Bierrez emerged from the smoke. The yokai, too, had the same look, his once light orange eyes now cold and hard. The two glared at each other as the flames erupted and seemed to grow, the heat intensifying around them. They did not notice they were the only ones now in the circle of flame. 

            Cesia saw the intense look on Rath's face through the flickering flames.  _It's the same…the same as before…_ Images flashed through her mind as the two suddenly charged at each other and began the intense battle, each having the look to kill on his face. Her mind sent her farther and deeper into the past and memories that had been locked away for so long. She could not hear her friends calling to her; only the roar of flames filled her ears as she felt herself fall into herself. 

            Kitchel shook her. "Cesia-chan!! CESIA!" she screamed. 

            "You'll break her or give her brain damage if you keep shaking her like that!" Thatz yelled as Kitchel continued to shake her friend crazily.

            "SHE'S NOT ANSWERING ME!!" she yelled back, but stopped shaking her.

            Rune frowned and narrowed his eyes as he looked at Cesia's blank eyes. _It's just like Rath told me…_ he thought as he flashed back to when Rath had first returned home after talking with Cesia after school. Rune wondered what was happening to her, or really, what _had_ happened to her. Maybe she had all the answers to his questions. But she was too far away from them now, and there was no way to get her back physically. He would have tried to enter into her mind using his elfin powers, but he was neither good nor was sure of himself to try. Plus, he was sure Rath would be furious if he had found out, the possibilities of killing both the seer and the subject rather high. At the thought, he turned his attention back to where Rath and Bierrez were fighting, the roar of the flames intensifying with every hit Rath made. _Will the fighting ever end?_ Rune thought sadly. _Will the pain ever stop coming?_ He knew that these were futile thoughts, and he would soon find that there was to be more pain, especially for someone he held dear to him, very soon.

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Bwahaha, we'll just cut this in half ) Yes, a little foreshadow, but anyway… As you can see, some events run parallel to the real story, but it's about to take a very hard turn…I think o_O; Maybe this will just turn back around to the actual DK story that I don't even know about…o_o; that would be freaky…@_@ Well, I'm TRYING to be original T_T R&R!


	15. Dying Flames

Chapter 15: Dying Flames

*coughs* Sorry for the VERY late update… (last updated on the 15!!!) x_X Er, sorry loyal readers @_@ one: writer's block; two: been playing Grandia Xtreme . GOOD GAME O_o if you like to battle that is . Which I do enjoy so much ) Anyway…what's happening now? The battle is heating up, literally! So who will win, the dragons or the yokais? O.o Find out for yourself! Oooh…I got a BRAND NEW idea for the fic…mwahaha well this changes things a bit, but I hope for the better ^^ Now my fic will NOT resemble the real DK story D Hence the _Alternate _Dimension name =D New characters arise and all of them are mine unless noted. SO NO COMPLAINTS IF SOMETHING IS OUT OF STORY LINE GOT IT?! *huffs* READ ON!

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            _It hurts…_

The flames kept coming. 

_Why does it hurt so much…?_

Cesia cringed and pressed her back against the invisible wall within her mind as the tongues of flames flickered around her. They seemed to want to burn her, to smolder her in the ash and smoke they were creating. She coughed and slid down to her knees. When she reached out to place her hand on the invisible wall, it was not there and she now found herself totally surrounded by a sea of fire. 

_Wind won't work here,_ she thought helplessly as she went into another coughing fit, the smoke now choking her. _I'm done for…_ She closed her eyes in attempt to block out the smoke from entering them, but it was to no avail. She could feel the ash and smoke stinging her eyes and they started to tear.

A shadow loomed over her and she suddenly felt a light breeze against her face. She slowly looked up and saw the back of a person standing in front of her, a glowing white sword visible. Wind was now surrounding both of them as the flames immediately began to recede, not wanting to be near the new intruder. Cesia, now able to breathe easier, stared up at the stranger in wonder. At first she had thought he was Rath, but now she can see that it was not but some other person. His dark, olive green hair blew wildly as the wind picked up speed.

Raising the brilliant white sword with one arm and the other outstretched in front of him, he now stared at the giant fiery monster that had formed from the flames. In a calm voice yet forceful voice, he yelled, "WIND BLADES!" 

Cesia wondered how wind would affect fire, but she soon found to her great surprise how powerful his wind magic was. The winds that had been swirling around them instantly flew up and formed multitudes of razor sharp rings. Spinning at a lightning fast pace, the blades sliced through the monster like a shredder slices a piece of paper. After one last piercing shriek, the monster disappeared, taking the sea of fire with him. Blackness suddenly surrounded the both of them as Cesia looked around in astonishment.

"Lady Cesia…are you all right?"

She blinked and looked up to see the person now looking down at her, his light, steel blue eyes filled with concern. His blood red jacket flapped in the wall of wind still swirling around them. His pants were also a dark blood red and wore a black vest over a dark blue shirt, a dark gray sash wrapped around his waist. Hanging from his pants was his sword, now in the elaborately decorated sheathe, and was connected by two silver chains. "Y-Yes…" _Who is he?_

The stranger brushed back his long bangs away from his face, the movement making the pair of golden cross earrings sway a little. "I am relieved…I was afraid I would have been stopped before I came here."

Cesia stood up. "Who are you?"

He suddenly kneeled down onto one knee, one arm across his chest. "I am your guardian, Shizuken, sworn to protect my Master or Mistress, whoever is deemed fit." He looked up at her. "Though, Lady Cesia, I am also known as Kaze, or the Dragon of the Winds."

"The…the Wind Dragon?!" she repeated in disbelief. "B-But I'm not a Dragon Knight! And you don't look like a dragon," she added skeptically.

Shizuken blinked. "You do not have to consider yourself a Dragon Knight, but one who controls one of the five main dragons. As for your other statement, would you rather see me in my dragon form?"

"Ah, er, no that's okay! You can also stand up now," she added, a sweat bead forming on her head. She sighed and looked around as Shizuken straightened. "Where are we anyway? Definitely not Draqueen…"

"We're inside your mind," he responded. "You had been driven deep within your sub-conscious, which was rather difficult to get through. Here is where all of your memories rest, be it good or bad." He stopped and turned slightly. "In either case," he said slowly, "it would be best if we leave this place. You are vulnerable here."

Cesia blinked. "Leave? How do I leave? I was trying to do that when the flames erupted around me. And how did they get here anyway?"

"It was one of your memories," he said in the same calm voice as he walked forward. "Follow close to the winds and they will not attack."

She hurried after him and walked behind the Dragon, still in utter disbelief and awe. "Attack? My memories attack?"

"It is simple. They take form of the memory itself and if it is a bad memory, they attack. If it is good, it will either leave you alone or help you."

"I see…" They walked in silence for a while. Everything was pitch black to Cesia and she wondered how Shizuken could see his way through. She also suddenly realized that they were both emitting light. _This is just too much_, she thought as she placed a weary hand on her forehead. _I wonder how Rath is…_ She suddenly ran into Shizuken and rubbed her head. "Ow…sorry about that, Shizuken…but next time, give me a warning or something."

"We are at the border between your conscious and your sub-conscious," he said unfazed, motioning to the bright white light that acted as a door. He turned and gave her a gentle smile. "If you need me, just call my name, be it Shizuken, Kaze, or Wind. I will always answer." He turned back around. "But now, it would be best if you returned to your friends," he said, a hint of uncertainty and worry in his voice. "Danger is approaching."

Cesia shielded her face with her arm as a giant burst of wind suddenly erupted between them. "But where will you be?"

"I'll be waiting where I have always been waiting." Without another word, the wind surrounded him and he disappeared.

She blinked. "'Where I have always been waiting?'" she repeated. "That doesn't answer my question!" she twitched, then sighed. "Oh well…Shizuken, huh? Wonder what it means…" She turned to the door of light and took a deep breath as she stepped through.

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            "Thatz look out!" Rune yelled.

            "I see it!" Thatz said as he jumped to the side, dodging the slab of rock that had been aimed at his head. "Rune, do something other than just jump around and yelling!!" he yelled, a vein popping.

            "I'd be glad to do that," Rune said slowly, anger dripping in his voice as he narrowly missed the ice dagger, "if my own element wasn't attacking me!!!"

            Kitchel stood in front of the still unconscious Cesia, a small dagger in her hands. "Erg, I'm no fighter!" she wailed as she deflected a flying piece of rock. 

            Nadil watched them all dodging the attacks, an amused look on his fight. "This is going far more easier than I thought," he mused and walked toward Kitchel. "So, young lady, if you would like me to stop the attacks, step aside."

            "Yeah right!" she yelled and glared at him. _Ack what am I going to do?!_ she thought sweatdropping slightly. _I don't have powers like the others!!_

            Thatz saw Nadil from the corner of his eyes and swiftly turned. "Nadil get away from there!" he yelled as he ran forward, zigzagging as stalagmites suddenly erupted from beneath him. He stopped abruptly as a wall of rock suddenly rose up in front of him. "Damn!" He blinked as a jet of ice blasted through the wall and turned to see Rune panting behind him.

            Rune hunched over, gasping for breath. "I've…been…running…from that thing…for…the past…ten…minutes…" he gasped. 

            Thatz cocked an eyebrow. "You need to get more shape, eh pretty boy?" He quickly raised his hands in surrender as Rune's sword suddenly came very close to his neck. "JOKING!!!"

            Rune sighed. "At any rate…DUCK!" he yelled.

            Thatz blinked and turned. "Huh?" He was suddenly hit with the giant piece of rock that had been hurtling toward them. He walked around dizzily. "Oi…Mommy is it time for dinner yet…?"

            Rune groaned, slapping his hand to his forehead. "MORON!" he yelled then watched in amazement as Thatz managed to avoid all of the flying shards of rock and ice that were hurtling at him as he continued to walk around drunkenly. _Only him…_ Rune thought sweatdropping. He blinked as a voice suddenly called out from behind Kitchel.

            "Rune behind you!!"

            The Water Dragon Knight swiftly turned and deflected the barrage of ice daggers with his sword. After seeing everything was all clear he turned back to see Cesia now standing behind Kitchel, wind forming a barrier around them.

            Nadil cringed as he held up an arm, shielding his face from the razor sharp blades of the wind that circled the two girls. "So, you have awakened now?"

            Cesia glared at the Yokai Lord. "Nadil! You have overstayed your welcome here for far too long!" she yelled angrily. "LEAVE!"

            He stepped back slightly as he braced himself from the giant burst of wind that blew at him. He felt a small trickle of blood run down his face and grinned. "So you managed to cut even me…impressive."

            Kitchel turned to Cesia and hugged her. "Oh Cesia! You're all right!!"

            Cesia blinked and hugged back. "Yeah…thanks for protecting me, K-chan," she said smiling. "But now you have to find somewhere else safer," she said in a hard voice, making Kitchel blink. 

            "You're going to fight him one on one?!" the human thief cried. "He's too powerful!"

            "I have to, Kitchel," she said as she gently, but firmly pushed her friend away to the side. "You'll be safe by my wind protection." She gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. This has been going on for far too long."

            "Cesia, no!" Kitchel cried as she watched her friend walking toward certain doom.

            Nadil raised an eyebrow as he watched Cesia step forward, sheer determination etched on her face. "Do you have any idea what you are asking for? You are just making easier for me to accomplish what I have set to do."

            "Cesia stop!" Rune yelled as he helped Thatz back up to his feet. "Damn, you way a ton, Thatz!" he yelled as he struggled to lift the Earth Dragon Knight. "You really need to cut back on the food," he grumbled.

            "FOOD?! DOKO?!" Thatz yelled as he jumped up and looked around wildly. To his disappointment, and slight horror, all he found was a very annoyed Rune glaring at him. "Ah, er, haha!" _I'm dead_, he thought sweatdropping as he saw several veins pop on Rune's head.

            "Will…you…CUT THAT OUT!!" Rune yelled as he slammed the flat end of his sword down on Thatz's head. "Oh shoot," he groaned as Thatz once gain walked around dizzily.

            "Whee! Can we go on the ride again, Mommy?" Thatz said dizzily.

            Rune sighed and decided it would be better if he just ignored him as he turned back around. He was about to run forward to try and stop Cesia when the earth shook beneath him and split the ground between him and Nadil, forming a giant chasm. He gulped. _Well…looks like she's on her own…_

            Cesia kept her eyes on Nadil's. The wind picked up around her, blowing her long, golden hair around her. _This one is for thanks, Shizuken,_ she thought as she yelled. "WIND BLADES!"

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            Rath blinked and stepped to the side as Bierrez charged right past him. He turned to where the others were. "Cesia? Was that Cesia I just heard?!"

            "SHUT UP AND FIGHT!" Bierrez yelled angrily as he ran forward and slashed at Rath.

            The Dragon Knight parried it. "You are way too slow for me," he said as he pushed Bierrez off his sword and swiftly slashed the side of his left arm.

            Cringing, the yokai glared at Rath. "You'll regret that, Rath!" he yelled as he fired a dark ball of black energy from his right hand at him.

            "What, resorting to magic now?" Rath said with disgust as he dodged and slashed it, cutting it in half. He stopped abruptly when he heard a piercing scream. "What the hell?!"

            Bierrez stopped as well and turned to where Nadil was holding Cesia aloft by the neck. _Nadil…_

            The wall of fire that had once surrounded the two fighters now disappeared as Rath ran forward. "Let her go you bastard!" he yelled angrily as he fired a wave of fire at the Yokai Lord.

            Nadil merely lifted his head and the flames extinguished. "You still underestimate my power, Rath," he said as he turned back to Cesia, who was trying to pry herself free form his hold. "As well as you, my dear Cesia. You have made it extremely easy for me to finally achieve my goal."

She gritted her teeth and glanced over at Rath. "Rath…" _Turn back…_

Rath yelled as he ran toward Nadil and leaped, ready to slice the yokai's arm in two when he suddenly felt something go right through him. Everything seemed to shatter and break apart as he slowly turned to see a triumphant looking Bierrez looking up at him. The yokai had extended his right arm and stabbed Rath from the back, holding the Dragon Knight high in the air, the blood streaming down like a river.

"This is for that time back on Earth, Rath," he heard Bierrez say. His voice seemed to be miles away.

Rune looked up at Rath horrified. "RATH!"

Rath coughed, blood splattering from his mouth. His arm shaking, he grabbed the mutated hand that protruded from the right side of his chest. _His…right arm…_ With his vision fading and mind slowing, he watched as both Thatz and Rune finally summon their dragons. But Nadil laughed as black winds surrounded both him and Cesia, muttering words Rath could not hear but he could see. He could not make them out and quickly gave up trying. He no longer felt Bierrez presence and could sense he was falling. As he fell, he felt swirls of flame and wind surround him and saw two different forms on both sides of him. For an instant, he caught a glimpse of a red dragon. _Fire…_ He finally closed his weary eyes and sighed. _Cesia…gomen…_ And everything turned black.

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Yatta! ^^ Well, Shizuken is MINE! And he's not the only new face in this fic ^^ As stated before, this is now going OFF storyline, but with some similar events occurring. But, anywho, this new idea of the dragons having human forms is really changing what I had intended to do, but it's all for the better right? ~.^ Anyway, I actually drew a picture of Shizuken before I did this. I hadn't originally planned on him being in here, but I thought 'what the heck?' and tossed him . His name has no specific meaning, but shizuka means calm/tranquil and ken can mean protector, sword, and a bunch of other stuff. I looked it up AFTER I thought of the name o.O so calm protector? . lol XD Well, anyway, just check my profile to get the link to my pic ^^ And tell me what you think either by e-mail or by review. Hrm…hope what I'm doing isn't illegal…o.o 


	16. History Repeated

Chapter 16: History Repeated

Yay! I finished my game =D Took 2 dang hours to beat the stupid boss -_-;; usually doesn't take me that long, but the stupid thing kept healing itself and killing my characters x.x And then it had 4 little helpers….*coughs* right just play the game . Anyway…what's going to happen now? o-o Common question I ask…Do you guys like the idea of there being human forms for the dragons? Teeelll me! Anyway…READ ON! 

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            The flowers wafted gently in the cool breeze that blew across the meadow. A long mountain rage could be seen in the distance, its snow covered peaks hidden in the clouds. A small mouth opened slightly and gently blew the white fluff of a dandelion into the air, dispersing the tiny seeds attached to the fluffy parachutes. The bright, amber eyes watched them fly high above her and into the distance. 

            Sighing, the young girl looked across the vast meadow filled with a grand diversity of flowers, all in full bloom. She sat there, her dress splayed out around her, and took it all in. It was a beautiful, sunny spring day and the birds sang to their hearts content, filling the area with their melodious voices. It would have all been perfect if something weren't missing. What was it? She looked at the entrance expectantly for a few minutes then sighed again.

            "He's late again…"

            "Who is?" a young, energetic voice asked behind her.

            The girl jumped and whirled around to see a young boy's face with bright red eyes looking at her curiously. "Eep! Don't do that!!"

            He laughed. "Sorry it took me so long. I had to do some chores for the Master."

            She watched him lie down next to her. "Like what?"

            "Oh the usual: polish the swords, dust the shelves, clean the dishes. He's just too lazy to do it himself, hehe."

            "You shouldn't say such things," she said looking at him sternly. "You're his apprentice and you should respect your elders."

            He stared at the sky for a moment, his dark red hair blowing gently in the breeze. "I guess so…"

            "Tomorrow is my birthday," the young girl said excitedly. "I can't wait!" 

            "I know," the boy laughed. "So how old are you going to be again?"

            "I'll be turning eight…"

            "Still younger than me!" he laughed.

            "I'll always be younger than you!" she snapped. "You're a year older anyway…"

            He rolled over onto his side and faced her. He propped his elbow up and rested his head in his hand. "And a few months," he added grinning. "But what do you want me to get you? Is that the reason why you wanted me to meet you?"

            She blushed for a moment and turned away quickly. "Um…well sorta. You can get me whatever you want. It doesn't really matter…" She kept her face averted and played with the hem of her dress.

            The boy looked at her curiously. "Hey, something wrong?"

            She sat there silent for a moment. They could hear the church bell back in the village, its loud rings echoing across the field. The afternoon had gone by quickly and dusk was settling in. "No…there's nothing wrong…"

            He glanced over at her then lowered his face. "…Actually…I already have your gift…do you want it now?"

            The girl turned to him surprised. "Really?" She paused. "Um…I think I'll wait."

            "Oh, all right," he said, slightly relieved. He stood up and held his hand out to her. "I think we better be getting back, before your folks start to worry."

            She blinked and looked at his outstretched his hand. Her face reddened slightly as she took it and stood up. "Yeah…I guess so…"

            He grinned and clasped his hand over hers. "Come on!" he yelled laughing as he ran forward, dragging her with him.

            "Ch-Chotto!" she yelled then sighed and stared after him while running. Her eyes softened as she saw him glance back at her, his face slightly flushed and smiling. She smiled back and they laughed as they ran into the small village deep within the forest.

            The young boy dropped the girl off in front of her house and said hello to her parents, his hand behind his head embarrassed. How long has it been?

            _Beware the flames…_

            The boy blinked and looked around.

            "Is something the matter?" the father asked.

            "Did you…hear something…?"

            "No," the mother said. She smiled. "You sure you don't want to stay here for dinner?"

            "Um…well the Master will get rather angry if I stay out too much longer," he said laughing nervously.

            "Aw, all right," she said. "But remember, you are always welcome here."

            He smiled and turned to walk away. "Well, see you tomorrow!" he said waving and walked over to his Master's house. He was reaching into his pocket when he felt a hand grabbing the back of his shirt and froze. He relaxed a little when he heard the timid voice talking to him.

            "Will you…come back later tonight…?"

            He looked up and smiled a little. "Sure, I'll give it to you then."

            "…Promise?"

            He turned around and hugged the slightly shaking girl. "Promise."

            They looked at each other for a moment then parted, each going their separate ways. Everything seemed to go by quickly for the young boy as he anticipated the time when he will give his friend her present. He felt inside his pocket and heard the metal _clink!_ It was almost time. He would have to sneak out from his room, thought it would be difficult. The Master had very good hearing and it didn't help that the wooden floorboards were old and squeaky.

He waited until the old church bell rang ten times before stealthily climbing down his window. He had to jump down the last few feet and landed with a slight _thud!_ He glanced around quickly and sighed with relief when the light in the Master's room didn't turn on. He suddenly realized he had no idea where she wanted to meet him, but that didn't matter. Something was pulling him toward the field and he just let his feet take him where they wanted to go.

            The boy stopped at the gate to the fields and clambered over it. He straightened after landing and stared in awe. The girl was standing in the middle of the flowers, the moon now full and bright. Its moonbeam seemed to shine down on her like a singer in the spotlight. The wind gently blew her long, golden hair around her as she turned around suddenly to face him. He gulped as he took a few hesitant steps toward her, unsure of what to do, unsure of what to say. The moon shone down on both of them and was the only witness to see what passed between the two children. The boy slowly reached into his pocket and hesitantly drew out something.

            The girl blinked. "What is it?"

            _He is near…beware…_

            He looked down, his bangs covering his eyes. "I…uh I…" With his hand shaking, he took out something that seemed to be hanging from a chain. "I-It's something that the Master helped me find…so you could consider it something from both of us…but I'm the one who spent the most time looking for it…"

            _The fire is rising…_

            "What is it?" she repeated, though her voice wasn't as firm as it was before. The wind started to grow stronger.

            Taking a deep breath as he slowly opened his hand, he said, "It's something to remind you of me…I guess."

            The girl's eyes widened. In his hand was a brilliant, clear crystal with the carving of a dragon curled up sleeping inside it. "It's beautiful…" she said softly.

            He looked at her square in the eyes. "It's a symbol of me. I'm like the dragon. I'll always be by you no matter what happens. I'll protect you even if it costs me my life!"

            She stared at the flushed face filled with determination and with her lips quivering a little she flung her arms around his neck, startling the young boy. "Oh thank you…thank you so much…"

            He hesitated then slowly hugged her, the pendant still in his hand. "Do- itashimashite…" he replied as he rested his cheek against her soft hair. Was this the feeling of pure bliss? They seemed to radiate under the moonlight, and he never wanted to let go. He wanted to hold her like the way he was forever.

            _The flames are burning…burning all and yet also lightning the way. The waters are rising…quenching the thirsts of others and drowning their sorrows. The earth is shaking…creating and destroying all at the same time. The winds of fate are blowing…forever guiding and forever misleading. The wheels of time are turning once more and fate has yet to be determined._

            The boy blinked when he felt her grip tightened around his collar. "Ow, hey that hurts…"

            "The village…"

            He blinked. Her voice was strange. He pulled away from her and looked at her horror stricken face. It was then that he heard the screams. Slowly he turned and his eyes widened in pure terror. The village had burst into flames and huge monstrous beasts carrying yokai riders circled around helpless villagers, only to slaughter them with their razor sharp blades. 

            She screamed when she saw her parents being chased by one of the riders and ran forward. The boy reached out to grab her but missed and chased after her, yelling for her to stop. But it was no use. She seemed to be deaf and blind to all except her parents and their impending death. He reached her just as the yokai thrust his sword into her father. Horrified he swiftly turned her around so that she wouldn't see the blood splattering. He wished he could cover her ears as well, so that she wouldn't hear the piercing screams her mother emitted as another came up and drove his sword down her back and fall lifeless to the ground. 

            "Well, well, this looks like a scrumptious little snack," a voice said behind him.

            He turned around to see a group of yokai standing in front of him, their blades gleaming in the air. He reached into his boot and drew out a small dagger. He cursed silently, knowing he was no match for them. Had the Master also fallen as well? "Who are you?! Why are you doing this?!"

            "We serve under the orders of Lord Nadil," the yokai said.

            "Hey, is that the girl?" another said, nodding toward the sobbing young girl being held by the boy, his free arm wrapped around her.

            The first yokai ran his finger across his blade. "It looks like it. You can feel it can you? The power emitting from her…Lord Nadil will be pleased," he said grinning. "Hand over the girl, boy, and we'll spare your life."

            "You think I'm going to let you take her?" he yelled. He felt something burning inside him. "You dumb bastards, you killed her parents right in front of her eyes! You burned down our only home and killed off all our neighbors and friends!" he screamed, angry hot tears streaming down his face.

            The yokai glared at him. "Look who you're talking to, boy," he growled. "We tried being nice to the villagers but they wouldn't say a thing. We gave them fair chances but they refused." He nodded to the others and they raised their swords. "So be a good little boy and hand over the girl."

            "Stay back!" he yelled as the inched closer. His red eyes were now burning brightly, flames reflecting in them. "I SAID LEAVE!!" he yelled as a giant burst of flame surround the two children, blowing the yokai back into the buildings.

            The girl blinked and looked up to see the young boy's face filled with anger and…fire? "R---" She gasped and froze.

            "That's right, it's best for you not to talk…if you want your friend to live."

            The boy froze as he felt the metal tip of a sword against his neck. 

            "You shouldn't have kept your back open," the voice said, the voice smooth like oil and cold as ice. "Do you know what you are? You are betraying one of your own kind. Hand over the girl."

            "My own kind?!" the boy yelled angrily but not moving. "I'm human! I'm not a yokai like you!" He gasped when he suddenly felt cold hands grab his throat and hold him high in the air. He looked down to see the deep violet eyes staring up at him. "You're…" he coughed.

            "I'm surprised you know who I am," the yokai said, smiling a little. He nodded to the slightly singed group of yokai. "Take her."

            "NO!" he yelled as he struggled to get free. "Leave her alone! She never did anything!!!" He gasped as the grip tightened.

            "You have power, yet you refused to ally yourself with your own kind. Foolish boy." 

            The boy glared at his captor. "Let me go you filthy yokai."

            Nadil narrowed his eyes and the boy screamed from the pain within his head. "Do you wish to die? I can grant you that if you like."

            He gasped, taking deep gulps of breath. The boy summoned all his strength to take one last look at the Yokai Lord. "You're a dumb bastard."

            "RATH!!!!" the girl screamed as Nadil swiftly drove his sword into the boy's body. The yokai grabbed her and mounted up on their mutated steeds. "RATH NOO!!"

            Lying on the ground, his blood starting to create a small pool underneath him, Rath reached out a hand. "Ce..sia…" He gasped as he got to his knees and clutched his stomach. He felt something on the ground and grabbed it. He knew what it was and clutched it tightly. "CESIAAAA!!!" he screamed before falling back to the ground, the blood now flowing freely.

            _It is all the same, it had happened before. History is repeating itself once more. Once more you are defeated. Once more you fail. You see your loved one taken down a haunted trail. You swore you would protect her not matter what the cost. But you now lie there dying, alone and lost. What will you do? Will you continue your quest? Or would you like me to give you eternal rest…?_

            _No…_ Rath's eyes fluttered as he watched the dust receding. He saw a pair of light green eyes flicker in front of him and heard several voices. The fire continued to burn behind him. _No…not again…_ All turned black once more.

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Okay, originally I had another part to this, but it 9 pages and I don't think anyone would sit in front of the computer screen to read 9 pages of words all at once o_o;; So I'm splitting it in two .; Sound similar to the last chapter? It should, and there's a reason. It was tricky trying to cut it right there and make it so the beginning of the next chapter wouldn't be odd. Right, anyway, just keep going, I was nice and went ahead in putting the subsequent chapter .


	17. Past Revealed

Chapter 17: Past Revealed

Right, Part II! Enjoy! Oh and you get to meet Fire in his human form and that's my original character, sorta. I'll have to configure a real character sketch of him sometime…when I do, I'll put the link up my profile. Right enough of this! READ ON!

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            A drop of water fell on Rath's face and he slowly opened his eyes. He rubbed his head. _I have such a headache…_ He looked at his hand. It was clean. He sat up blinking. Was it all a dream? 

            Two forms stood on either side of him, but he could not make it out. Everything was black like a deep void. "Who are you?" he called out into the darkness.

            They stirred and slowly turned to him. The one to his left slowly walked over to him and kneeled, his face hidden in the darkness. "Rath? Are you all right?"

            "Who are you?" the Dragon Knight repeated. "Am I…dead?"

            The figure chuckled. "No, you're not dead, thank the Dragons. You're inside your mind."

            "My mind?"

            "That is correct," the other figure said as he stepped forward, his face also hidden in the darkness. "We had managed to save you from falling to your death, but we were unsure if whether or not we had saved you from internal death."

            "Internal…?" Rath blinked when he felt something in his other hand. He hadn't realized it was still balled up into a fist. He knew what it was before he even saw the bright glint. It was the crystal pendent he had been holding from the dream. _Or was it a memory?_

            "It was a memory," the figure next to him confirmed. 

            Rath narrowed his eyes. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

            He shrugged. "I'm part of you. It's easy to tell." He paused. "You _do_ know who I am, right?"

            "I wouldn't have asked first two times if I did," Rath said dryly, but it suddenly dawned on him. "Are you…Fire?!"

            Bright red eyes lit up the figure's face as it came into light. He had short, fiery red hair with one golden ring earring on his right ear. He was wearing a dull red jacket over a white, sleeveless shirt, the pants a matching red with a bright red sash around his waist. Around his neck was a dark red crystal hanging from a platinum chain, which glinted from an unknown source of light. The Dragon looked at Rath and smiled. "Yeah, I guess you could call me that, or Honou. But in this form, I'm Saiseiken."

            Rath blinked. "Saiseiken?" He turned over to the other figure who still stood before him. "And you?"

            Light, steel blue eyes shone in the darkness and a slight breeze blew around them, revealing the stranger with the golden crossed shaped earrings and blood red clothing. "I am Shizuken. Dragon of the Wind, or Kaze."

            "Whoa, wait a minute," Rath said placing a hand to his forehead. "I understand Fire…I mean Saiseiken being in here…but you?" he said, looking directly at the Dragon. 

            "It was my Mistress' wish," he responded. "And anyway…you have the seal."

            "What?" Rath stared at him confused. "The seal? I don't control you, only Fire."

            "That's where things get a bit messy…" Saiseiken said. "That pendent that you hold in your hand is actually Shizuken's seal and only source of power. He had started to awaken when you arrived at the same school as Lady Cesia."

            Rath sat there silent, slowly taking it all in. "So let me get this straight…Cesia is the Mistress of the Wind Dragon?"

            "That's right."

            "And _I_ hold the seal?" he repeated dubiously.

            "Yes," Shizuken said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "All these years I had been asleep in that crystal." He walked around them slowly then stopped, his back towards Rath. "You had found that crystal in the Wind Tunnels, and that is where I had been sealed by Nadil long ago. I would have awakened sooner if only Lady Cesia had touched the crystal you had tried to give her…" He growled. "And I would have killed Nadil right then and there. She wouldn't have had to suffer…"

            "What are you talking about?!" Rath shouted angrily, startling Saiseiken. "What did Nadil do to her ten years ago?!"

            The Wind Dragon stood there silent for a moment then let out a long breath. "She lost…her humanity…"

            Rath sat there shocked. _So that's how…that's how she's part yokai…like me…_ "You seem to know everything about Cesia…"

            "Of course. I am her Dragon. She is my Mistress. We are as one…or were."

            "Were?" Rath repeated.

            "The seal," Saiseiken said, nodding toward the crystal in Rath's hand. "See this?" he said as he lifted the dark red crystal that hung from his neck. It had a sleeping dragon in it, just like the one Rath had. "This is my seal. You had it inside you the whole time."

            "Inside me?!" Rath yelled incredulously. "How could it be _inside_ me?!"

            "Yeesh, you don't have to yell!" Saiseiken said wincing. "I'm right next to you, you know. Anyway, yes. You were really a full yokai. And I know this because I'm part of you, remember?" he said narrowing his eyes at Rath as the Dragon Knight was about to intervene. "I know you hate having secrets known, too, but tough luck about me. Of course I stay away from very private thoughts…" He snickered and nudged Rath.

            Shizuken blinked as he watched Rath's face turn bright red. He coughed. "Ahem…Saiseiken?"

            The Dragon coughed. "Right. Anyway, you were yokai physically, but human on the inside, thanks to your old Master. He had found you abandoned and raised you up in the village in Saerinas, where you first met Cesia. Then Nadil attacked and you were left there for dead."

            Rath sat there in silence as Saiseiken took a breather. "So…had I died? And how did I conjure up that wall of fire if you weren't there already?"

            "Oh yeah, that. You're a fire yokai at heart."

            He blinked at stared at the Dragon. "A _fire_ demon? Me?"

            "Yep, and it made the transition a lot more easier, hehe." Saiseiken yawned. "Man this is getting way too long for my taste. To cut the story short, you were found by the Dragon Patrol and would luck have it, the Dragon Lord himself was there! So he healed you with his Dragon Blood, making you an honorary Dragon and heir to the throne! Congrats!" He grinned. "I was given to you and then the Dragon Knight trio was born, though I'm not sure whatever happened to Cesia…maybe she died or something?" He regretted it as soon as he had said it as Rath and Shizuken glared at him. "JOKING!"

            Rath twitched. "Okay…so I had been in Dusis before… How did I end up on Earth?"

            Saiseiken hesitated. "Uh…that's where even _I_ don't know. It's all just…blank between there and when I awoke again back on Earth when you first met Cesia."

            "Reborn." The two blinked and looked Shizuken, who stared down at them. "Everything started over from a certain point in time."

            "How?" Rath asked, completely lost. 

            "It was the Dragon Lord's wish…look." The Wind Dragon turned slightly and waved his hand in the air. Wind started to swirl and form a large globe. From within, the two could see a sort of movie playing in it. "There had been a great battle between the Dragons and the Yokais," he said as the wind globe showed the two forces fighting. "For years it dragged on and soon nearly the whole continent had been destroyed. Even though the Dragons had won in the end, it was no satisfying victory. So much devastation, so much carnage. It would have taken eons to replace all the damage that had been done from that war." The image flickered and vanished as Shizuken slashed through the wind globe with his sword. 

            "Hey! It was getting to the good part!" Saiseiken wailed as Shizuken sheathed his sword. He immediately hushed when both Rath and Shizuken glared at him. He turned away muttering.

            Shizuken coughed. "The losses were too great. The Dragon Lord had also lost his Queen, Lady Raseleane in a battle. It had been an ambush in the castle…" He shook his head. "So with the help of his Queen's Dragon Eyes and every bit of power he and his Light Dragon had, Lord Lykouleon restarted time from exactly the time you were born," he said, staring straight at Rath. "He tried to change the course of history, but he knew that was too much of a task, even for a Dragon Lord with two magic amplifiers like the Dragon Eyes and his Light Dragon. He only managed to change where it had begun, but he could not change the events…totally. Your meeting with Cesia and the other three Dragon Knights was timed completely different, as was your location. But in the end, you still ended up coming back here and your past still lingers in your mind, as well as everyone else's."

            "Does Lykouleon know?" Rath said suddenly. "Does he know everything about this?!" He narrowed his eyes. "And how do _you_ know all of this?"

            "Actually…he doesn't," Shizuken said, surprising the Dragon Knight. "In addition to restarting time, he too had lost his memories, as well as not being able to attain an heir to the throne. That was one of the ultimate sacrifices he had to make." He turned to Rath. "And how do I know? The wind tells me these things, for they have been blowing since the beginning of time and forever will be. And I had been drifting in time for a very long time. You were not reborn with my seal like the others had. In fact, my seal had been with the Light Dragon the whole time."

            Saiseiken gaped at him. "Dude, you were with _the_ Light Dragon?! The big supreme Dragon?!"

            Shizuken blinked. "Yes…There was really no where else at the time. Until now," he added, looking at Rath. "Once more it seems that I am to be handed off to Cesia by you."

            Rath clutched his head. _This is too much…I was _reborn_?! What of Thatz and Rune? And…Cesia? Where is she now? What had happened to her in the past?! Did I ever…find her? The battle was supposed to have taken years right? Did I ever go out to find her? _He shook his head. _And…lost her humanity? I don't want to know how that happened…_

            "You don't want to know," Saiseiken said softly. "Shizuken told me… Boy do I regret it."

            "You're not helping me here," Rath said stonily, glaring at the Fire Dragon.  
            "I can't keep my mouth shut, can I?" he said sighing. "Can't help it, you know? I worry about you a lot, Rath…you _are_ my Master."

            Rath sat there in silence then stood up. "Okay, so how do I get back to reality?"

            Saiseiken grinned as he jumped up. "Now there's the Rath I know! All you have to do is concentrate and will yourself to come back to consciousness. Quite simple really."

            The Dragon Knight stared at Shizuken. "Here…you might want this," he said as he held out the crystal that was the Wind Dragon's seal.

            The Dragon stared at it then closed Rath's fingers back over the crystal. "Keep it for now, it would be of no use to me at the moment. The only ones who can hold it now are you, Lady Cesia, and the Dragon of Light."

            "Can you…reach her?" Rath asked hesitantly.

            The Wind Dragon closed his eyes. "I had before she was taken for I had awakened as you can see. At least in human form. And I can faintly feel her presence… Since I have awakened, it will not be so difficult. It will be, however, if I try to go to her directly. I can talk to her or sense when something is happening…if I'm not blocked off that is."

            Rath stood there silent, his hand clutching the crystal. _Cesia…_ "I'll find her again. Even if I have to be reborn a million times, I will one day find her, and save her."

            Saiseiken looked at his Master then patted his shoulder. "Well said, lover boy." He swiftly dodged the punch that Rath had quickly thrown at him. "Whoa!! Man, you're way uptight!" He cringed as Rath stared at him for a moment, but then his master smiled, surprising the Fire Dragon. He then continued to suddenly start laughing and had trouble regaining his composure. Saiseiken blinked. "Uh…Rath?"

            After a few moments Rath stopped laughing and grinned. "It's been a while since I've relaxed some. Thanks Saiseiken."

            The Dragon grinned back. "Heh, anytime, Rath. Now get out of here! I'll still be here…and most likely Shizuken too since he's got no place to go."

            Rath grinned. "Right. Later!" He closed in his and after a few moments he flickered and disappeared all together.

            Saiseiken stared after him. "…Do you think we did the right thing?"

            Shizuken looked about him, seeing the bubbles filled with lost memories and dreams. They had not been visible before, but they were now starting to emerge. "Yes, he has to know. Only then will he be able to face the thing he most fears…"

            Saiseiken sighed and sat down. "I just hate to see him when has to confront Cesia…if she…"

            Shizuken sighed and looked down at his sheathed sword. "Don't mention it. Don't ever. He must not know. Not now at least…"

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Right, well there it is! Boy that took some time @_@ Stay tuned for Chapter 18 ^^ Review please =O!


	18. Musings

Chapter 18: Musings 

Haha…gome ne minna-san ^^;;; As you all know (or should know) I've worked on other fics .; but that's besides the point…well that is actually the point because I haven't been working on this one XD *coughs* And now that I have a reader threatening me with a sword behind my back…*glares at her* I shall give this fic its way overdue update! READ ON!

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            He heard the sound of distant crying, mingled with loud and angry voices, as he drifted aimlessly in the fiery abyss of his soul. He stared up at the soft red light that beckoned him to return. To return to his reality, to his friends. Was that what he wanted to do? He rolled over onto his side, fresh new flames licking at his face harmlessly. _What's the point of going back?_ He found it strange that he was now hesitating after he had told himself that he was going to go back. But now that he was here, in this fiery sea, he felt his mind numbing slightly and he for once felt calm.

            _Because she's waiting for you, you dumb idiot!_

            _Who?_ Rath slowly turned back onto his back and stared up again. The light seemed so far away. _What did I do? I did nothing…_

            _You still have to get stronger, that's all. You have to go before it's too late!_

            _Too late for what?_ If he didn't come out from his internal hiding place, he would never have to face the full reality of it all. He could just float here in the sea of endless flames forever. And forget it all.

            The angry voice echoed around him. _You dumb idiot you're just a coward! That's all you do, you just lie within yourself and mope all day long. You've always just hid within yourself and _I_ always had to pull you out of it! Will you grow up? Dammit if you weren't who you were I would have strangled you to your senses! Now GET OUT!_

Rath almost laughed at the angry voice. _Sounds so much like someone I know,_ he thought and continued to stare at the soft red light. How close was he really? He slowly reached up. Maybe if he reached out to grab the light he would return. He could feel the warmth and the light grew brighter. It felt welcoming and seemed to draw his hand closer towards it. "Back to…reality?" His hand hesitated and the angry voice returned.

            _ARGH! RATH WHY DID YOU STOP?!_

            _Fear…is that what it is? Yes…this uncertainty that lingers still in the deepest depths of my heart and soul…but why?_

The voice now took a pleading tone. _Rath…please…just go back outside…you can't live inside yourself forever… Not again…you can't do that again, Rath…so please just go back outside…_

            The Dragon Knight blinked. Again? Had he done this once before? Maybe…he wouldn't be too surprised anymore. Everything has changed after all. An unknown wave of fear swept through his body. _Change? If everything has changed…Cesia…_ Rath gritted his teeth and reached out once more. _I have to go back…but not to reality. I have to go back…to Cesia._

The light had not been so far away after all. 

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            Rune stalked around the ornately decorated room as Rath's body lay in the large bed. Thatz watched his friend from the wall he was leaning against, an eyebrow cocked. "Rune, you're starting to make me sick with all that pacing you're doing."

            "Aren't you in the slightest bit worried!?" Rune practically shouted, making Thatz cringe.

            "Of course I am, but pacing like that isn't going to help any."

            "I can't help it!" He continued his pacing then whirled around to Cernozura. "Why are they not working?! What is wrong?!"

            The attendant looked up from where she sat. She turned away from Rune's piercing glare and changed the towels that she had placed on Rath's pale forehead. _His breathing…it's you can hardly tell he's even alive…_ She felt Rune's eyes still glaring at her and she sighed, starting to get tired of his ranting. "Rune, I don't know. I'm just an attendant. I'm sure Lord Lykou—"

            "Where is he?!" Rune screamed. "Why hasn't he been here? It's been three days! THREE DAYS!!" 

            _He's lost it,_ Thatz thought amusedly as his friend slumped heavily against the dresser with his arms crossed, making the piece of furniture bang into the wall with a loud crash. Thatz quickly caught the vase that had fallen off the dresser and sighed. "Rune, if you keep this up, Alfeegi will start hounding down on you for palace damages." He placed the vase back to its rightful position. "And anyway, I'm sure the Dragon Lord has other pressing mat—"

            "OTHER MATTERS?!" Rune's temper had flown out the window, along with the rest of his reasoning. "Rath is one of us, a Dragon Knight! DRAGON KNIGHT!" He stressed each syllable by pounding his fist into the wood. "We are supposed to be the main defenders of Draqueen and it's obvious he is the more powerful one of the group!!!"

            "Rune…" Thatz said taking on a paternal tone. He wouldn't be too surprised if the piece of furniture cracked and broke right then and there.

            The elf glared at him. "Don't 'Rune' me, Thatz! Don't you care either?!?!"

            Thatz frowned. This was getting way out of hand. Sure, Rune lost his temper occasionally, but it had never come to this degree. "You asked that already and my answer is still yes, of course I do, Rune. He's like a brother to me." He straightened. "But you shouldn't be hounding down on Cernozura like you are, Rune."

            "Well she's the only one here that could probably answer my questions, Thatz," he said with his teeth clenched and whirled around to Cernozura. "What can be more important than the health of a Dragon Knight?!"

            She turned away from his flushed face, a slightly annoyed look on her face. "Rune, I understand how worried you are about Rath, but the Dragon Lord also has important diplomatic issues to take care. The timing of this attack does not help his situation at all so I suggest you be a bit more kinder to him. Not to mention Alfeegi's hammering on him about the damage costs."

            Rune just growled and yelled, "I'm going to go find Lord Lykouleon right now!" as he stormed out the room, slamming the door loudly behind him.

            Thatz quickly moved and caught a falling painting and sighed. "I've never seen him so upset before…" He replaced the painting and turned to Cernozura. "I'm sorry for all the stuff he said…"

            The attendant shook her head. "Don't worry, I understand. I'd be in such a rage as well if Lady Raseleane was ever hurt…"

            The both jumped with they heard a soft groan from the bed and turned to see Rath slowly sitting up, his hand over his forehead. "Ow…My head…"

            "RATH BUDDY BOY!" Thatz yelled as he ran over and jumped on top of the unsuspecting Rath, hugging him tightly. "You scared me half to death!!"

            Cernozura watched them, a somewhat amused look on her face. "Okay you two, enough of that," she said as she pulled Thatz off of Rath. "Not only are you provoking more injuries, that just doesn't look right."

            Thatz moved off the bed and sweatdropped slightly. "It's not what you think…"

            Rath just shot him an annoyed look and took the medicine Cernozura handed him. He stared at it for a moment, holding it up to the light. "What kind of pill is this? It's clear…"

            Cernozura shoved it into his mouth. "It's a special medicine that helps to relieve all kind of aches."

            Rath choked slightly as the pill flew to the back of his mouth and down his throat. He coughed several times then glared at Cernozura. "A warning would have been nice," he growled.

            Her eyes flashed as she slammed her arm against his chest, knocking the Dragon Knight back onto his bed. "Watch your attitude and just lie there and let the medicine take effect." She then stood up and walked to the door. "I'm going to go ahead and tell Lord Lykouleon that you have regained consciousness."

            Thatz cringed slightly. _Never make that girl mad…_

Just as she reached to open the door, it flew outward and Cernozura stepped out of the way just as Rune came barreling in, dragging in Lykouleon after him. Thatz slapped his hand over his forehead and slowly shook his head in disbelief and Rune continued to shove the poor Dragon Lord to the side of the Rath's bed, oblivious to the fact that Rath was sitting up and staring at his friend like he was a crazy maniac. 

Lykouleon glanced over at Rune. "He looks wide awake to me."

"What do you mean 'wide awake'?!?!? HE'S—" The elf did a double take when he saw Rath. He placed a hand over his mouth and glanced at Lykouleon, finally realizing what he had done. "O-Oh…" He turned to the Dragon Lord and lowered his head ashamed. "I'm so sorry, Lord!! I don't know what came over me…"

            The Dragon Lord smiled. "I understand, and don't trouble yourself about it anymore, Rune. I probably would have done the same of one of my officers were in Rath's condition." He turned and walked to the side of the bed, taking the empty chair that sat next to it. "So, I see you finally decided to come back."

            "Yeah…with some help…" The Dragon Knight wasn't sure if he should tell Lykouleon about his encounter with Saiseiken and Shizuken but he could see that the Dragon Lord could sense the new power in him. He turned away and looked down, his voice dull as he said, "Cesia…is not here…is she?"

            Lykouleon slowly shook his head. "Nadil…took her," he said heavily. "We've sent out search parties, in hopes that she might have escaped and tried to come back…but…" he let his sentence hang as he looked sadly at Rath. "Rath, I'm sorry."

            Rath clenched his fist, his body shaking with anger. "I'll find her…and kill the bastards!" he roared, tongues of flames starting to flicker around him.

            "Rath, NO!" Lykouleon yelled as he grabbed the Dragon Knight's shoulders and forcefully turned Rath to him, his light green eyes looking directly into Rath's dark crimson ones. "Calm down! You cannot fight him. Not now at least. He's too powerful for you and you would only die in vain."

            "But I can't just sit here and let her suffer!" he yelled back, his eyes flashing with anger. "You wouldn't just stay here if it was Raseleane!"

            Lykouleon stared at him for a long time before releasing his hold and stood up. "Yes…you're right. I would be out there right now looking for her. But you are still not ready," he said firmly. 

            "I'm fine!" Rath persisted. "I have my dra—"

            "Yes, I know Fire is inside you," Lykouleon interrupted. "But you do not know how to control him." Still seeing the determined face on the youth's face, he softened. "Just rest and train yourself. Then we'll see if you can take on Nadil."

            Rune stepped up, his light blue eyes hard. "Lord, forgive me for this interruption, but you said Fire was inside him…but Thatz and I…we seemed to have lost our powers. Rath still has his. Why is this?"

            Thatz, who had been leaning against the wall watching them, nodded. "Rune couldn't even use his elfin powers and I can't feel Earth's presence."

            Lykouleon studied them for a moment. "It seems that your Dragons are now sealed."

            "Sealed?" Thatz repeated as Rune raised and eyebrow at the Dragon Lord. "Why ours and not Rath's?"

            The Dragon Lord hesitated. "That…I'm not quite so sure myself. It may have been Rath's strong will or Fire's or both. But you will have to find your Dragons to regain your powers." He turned to Rune. "Yours will most likely be in your home realm, the Water Realm. You will also be able to regain your elfin powers there." 

            "The Water Realm?" Rune repeated. _Oh yeah…I'm the…the…Prince there…_

            Nodding, Lykouleon then turned to Thatz. "Yours, I'm afraid will be a little harder, but I sense that Earth is in the mountain cave near Rangosta."

            "…And where the hell is this Rangosta?" Thatz asked.

            "A hundred miles southwest from the city of Miratte," a voice said behind him.

            Thatz spun around to see Kitchel grinning at him with a map in her hands. "What are you doing here?!"

            "Oh I saw Rune dragging Lord Lykouleon down the hallway and I was curious." She glanced over at Rath. "Nice to see you awake again!"

            Rath gave her a small smile. "Yeah…thanks."

            Kitchel turned her attention back to Thatz, a bright gleam in her eye. "Plus I was heading this way to tell you something. While in town I heard someone talking about a hidden treasure somewhere in a cave!" She clasped her hands together, crumpling the map in progress. "Imagine all the clothing I could get with all that cash!" she said, her eyes sparkling.

            Thatz just stared at her, a sweat bead forming on his head. "I see…" He pauses thoughtfully. _I guess I could eat all I want with all that money…_

            Lykouleon chuckled softly and turned to leave. "Well I must leave you all now, before Alfeegi finds me missing. I'll be in my office if you need anything." He looked at Rath a moment longer before exiting the room and softly closing the door. 

            Cernozura, who had been silent the whole time looked at the foursome. "I'll go to the kitchens and get you all something to eat…I'm sure you all would like to spend some time with Rath." With a smile she, too, left the room and hurried down to the kitchens.

            Kitchel blinked and bounced on the edge of Rath's bed. "Ooooh bouncy!! This is fun!" she giggled as she bounced higher and higher.

            Rath clutched the headboard of the bed as Kitchel continued to bounce on the mattress, seemingly oblivious of the annoyed glare Rath was shooting her. "Will…you…quit…bouncing?!" the Dragon Knight finally yelled angrily, causing the girl to suddenly stop and stare at him wide-eyed.

            "Er…sorry…" she mumbled as she quickly stood up and moved over to a chair.

            Rath sighed and ran a hand over his face and through his hair, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry…it's just that…"

            Rune nodded. "Don't worry, we understand," he said, shooting Kitchel a look. He moved over and leaned against the dresser. "So how are you feeling?" he asked gently.

            "Well enough to rip some yokai's head off," Rath growled.

            "Whoa there, killer," Thatz said sternly. "You heard the Dragon Lord. You can't possibly face him by yourself!" 

            "But I—"

            "I know," Thatz interrupted, "but you can't by yourself." He turned his head and looked out the window. "We can go and look for Cesia, _together_. All four of us. She's our friend, too." _And I know you really care about her…_ he added silently.

            For a moment Rath sat there in silence. He knew what Thatz said made sense, but something was telling him that he had to this by himself. And soon. An unknown fear tugged at his mind and heart. _Was it what Saiseiken had said…something about this happening before…?_ He wished the Dragon had told him but he would have to wait. "When are you guys leaving to search for your Dragons?"

            "Maybe in a few days," Rune said. "We have to make preparations and gather supplies." _And I'd feel better if I was certain that you were all right_, he added silently to himself. 

            "A few days…" Rath mused. "Can I come along?" he asked hopefully. 

            "Dame," Rune said sternly. "You are staying _here_ where people can keep an eye on you so you won't run off."

            "Awww come on!!" he persisted. Seeing that neither of them were going to give in he sighed. _I'll get out of here soon enough anyway…_

            At that moment Cernozura came back carrying a tray with delicious treats on them and four cups of hot, steaming tea. Thatz looked at the tray longingly but he felt Kitchel's firm hold on his shirt and waited until Cernozura placed the tray on a table and left. Kitchel handed Rath a plate of food and she and Thatz soon started discussing plans on how to go about and search for the treasure the aspiring girl thief heard about. 

Meanwhile Rune watched Rath while sipping his tea. He could tell his friend was plotting something, but what exactly he wasn't so sure. He worried Rath would try to escape the Dragon castle and head to Nadil all on his own, not that either knew where it was. But the determination on the Dragon Knight's face puzzled him slightly. Rune had wondered why Rath had been so protective over Cesia. When they first met Rath had been so cold to her, but then he saw his friend opening up to her and trusting her. _And then Bierrez came…_ The elf cringed slightly as he remembered the intense battles Rath had fought with the yokai. He then wondered about the yokai. It seemed to Rune that Bierrez cared at least a little for Cesia. _They both stopped fighting each time when something happened to her,_ he reflected. _But that won't help matters at all if I tell Rath my thoughts…_

And then there was Kharl. He was there during the battle on Earth, but Rune didn't see him in the previous one. _What is _he_ trying to do? He and Nadil must both be working together since they use Bierrez. What do they want…_ He was getting more and more concerned about all of these events. What would they want with Cesia? 

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Okay, that's not really a suitable stopping place but my brain is tired and I don't know what else to do o_o; Anyway sorry for the late update again…and for the lame non-fitting chapter title o.O; I hope I can get my real writing kick back in…this story is just so much more serious then my others .; But don't worry! You'll see an update soon! …Hopefully!!!!


	19. Hiatus

Alternate Dimension on Hiatus (gee, could I have put this up any later than I did? xDDDD)

*coughs* Yeah, sorry to disappoint the folks who that I actually updated. But uh…to be honest I am totally STUMPED. Total writer's block (that's going for my other fics too) .o; And the time. Yeesh, high school .o; and site .o; Rawr. Actually I've had ample time and I've just been a horrible author and have not written anything D Yeah, you'll kill me now _;; 

Um..but yeah, I really don't know what to do with this fic anymore o_O See the thing was, when I first wrote this when the first books of Dragon Knights came out, I was all giddy with joy cos I thought I was going away from the storyline. Well whaddya know, after like…uh..16 chapters in I learn that I was actually going PARALLEL to the real storyline _;;;; So I'm still over here, trying to figure out what the heck I need to do, with already 18 chapters in, to make this thing not in line with the original story. And yeah, after doing so many slap-stick humour script stories, my novel writing has gone kaput ;; 

Whoa I spelled that right o_O Spell checker didn't underline xD It is underling all my faces xD and humour I guess it doesn't like British spellings xD ANYWAY, yeah, if anyone has any ideas or something, tell me o_O;; Either that or I'm just gonna stop writing this thing…which I'm already doing but this time for real ;; And I don't wanna do that ;-; I'll see what I can do.

Or maybe tell me what I SHOULDN'T do o_O; That would like,  make it even more parallel to the storyline than it already is _;;; Seriously, I did not know that it was heading that way. I only had like book 3 or 5 when I was that far in o_o; …or maybe 6. 7? I forgot _; And I knew some stuff was going to happen but I didn't know a lot. So…sorry folks ;; Hopefully I'll update my other fics… … sometime… *coughs* 

You all just want to kill me now don't you? _;; *runs away*

With Much Love,

The Authoress

Bierrez: *in the background* HELP ME!! KITCHEL'S GONE DRUNK!!

Kitchel: WHEEEEEE!! *is chasing Bierrez around with a mega laser gun*

Rath: …Where the hell did she get her hands on that?

Washu: *randomly pops up* From the greatest scientist of the universe, that's where!

Rath: o_O *jumps back* You don't belong here!!

Washu: . My dimensional portal worked! Now I can go to different ANIME SERIES!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!!! FEEL MY GENIUS!!!

Kharl: …There's only room for one evil scientist around here. *drop kicks her back to the Tenchi series*

Washu: *laugh fades into the distance*

Me: …*pounds head against door repeatedly*


End file.
